Illustrator for Copilot+ PCs: Wanted, Dead or Alive?

[Red Penguin]

Dear Adobe,

It's July 29th, and your communications about the Illustrator release for Microsoft Copilot+ PCs are as sparse as a Western ghost town at high noon. We're left squinting at the horizon, hoping to see the Illustrator stagecoach roll in, but all we hear is tumbleweeds.

While software development can be as unpredictable as a quick-draw contest, a smoke signal or two wouldn't hurt. We're not asking for a daily telegraph, but some news would be mighty appreciated.

As I saddle up for vacation, I can't help but wonder: will I return to find Illustrator finally in town, or will I need to mosey on over to Affinity's saloon if this radio silence persists?

Looking forward to some news that isn't as elusive as a mirage in the desert heat!

[Monika Gause]

Maybe @Srishti Bali can shed some light on this?

[Bobby Henderson]

What exactly is Microsoft Copilot supposed to do in relation to Adobe Illustrator? Isn't Copilot just some newfangled chat bot? Anyone running Windows 11 is going to see the Copilot icon on the task bar. I have had zero urge to launch it.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Red Penguin,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your concern. Our team is working on releasing Illustrator for Microsoft Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Series ARM processors, and more details will be available soon. I will update this thread with any new information. We appreciate your patience.

Thanks,
Anubhav

[Red Penguin]

Hi @Anubhav M ,

Thank you for your prompt reply. I'm relieved to hear that your team is actively working on Illustrator for Microsoft Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Series ARM processors. The confirmation that more details will be available soon is comforting.

I must say, Adobe Photoshop for Windows ARM has been performing exceptionally well on my device, which makes the absence of Illustrator all the more noticeable in my workflow. I truly appreciate your commitment to providing updates directly in this thread.

I apologize if my initial message came across as impatient. It's just that throughout July, there was a complete lack of information, which led to some frustration. Your response has certainly helped ease those concerns.

I'll be looking forward to any news you can share about the release. Thanks again for your understanding and for keeping us in the loop.

Best regards

[Urbankidd1954]

While I'm glad there was some response... Let me be frank.

I spent well over $1000 for a new Microsoft Co-Pilot Surface Pro, just so I could really enjoy the speed and power for my Adobe Cloud Subscription.  I knew it would take some time to see all the products get over to that platform. 

BUT....

Now I am spoiled by Photoshop on my new laptop. It's awesome and I only bought it because of the July promise for Illustrator, two of my most used Adobe products.  

So having such a pithy reply is meaningless as someone had to acutally ask as the deadline approaches.

I expected better from Adobe.  Please tell us what "details availble soon" actually means??

Within a week, 2 weeks, a month???

[Anubhav M]

Hello everyone,

Thanks for your patience. Illustrator (beta) is now available for Microsoft Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Series ARM architecture-based processors for English locales. Get started here: (https://adobe.ly/4diLUmm). Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.

Thanks,
Anubhav

[Urbankidd1954]

That link DOESN'T WORK!!!!!!

[Monika Gause]

---

@Urbankidd1954  schrieb:

That link DOESN'T WORK!!!!!!

---

Beta versions are available in the Creative Cloud app. Just go to "Applications" and then in the top row there should be a "Beta" tab 

The link should download the Creative Cloud installer (it does for me).

[Urbankidd1954]

Maybe it was timing but mine weren't showing on the Creative Cloud App in beta.

I got to the site and downloaded it from there....

Posslibly my creative cloud app was behind somehow.......

[Red Penguin]

Maybe it was timing but mine weren't showing on the Creative Cloud App in beta.

I got to the site and downloaded it from there....

By @Urbankidd1954

That's interesting that you were able to download it from the site. I'm having a different situation on my end:

In my Creative Cloud app, under the Beta section, I can only see Photoshop listed, not Illustrator. I tried downloading Illustrator directly from the Adobe website, but it only gives me the desktop x64 version, which Creative Cloud then fails to install with an error message.

Could you please clarify how you managed to download the software from the site? I'm specifically looking for the beta version of Illustrator for Windows ARM64. Where exactly on the Adobe site did you find this version? I'd really appreciate any guidance on how to locate and download the correct ARM64 beta version of Illustrator, as I'm currently unable to find it.

Thanks for any help!

[Urbankidd1954]

Sorry for the delay....  I've been trying to find it for you.... still looking.

I think the reason it doesn't show in the Beta section may be that the Creative Cloud Desktop app itself  needs updated and I'm not sure how that's done compatred to other apps.  I kinda always thought that was automatic.

[Urbankidd1954]

Think i found it.... go to this link (which is the Adobe illustrator Beta on the Web) first

https://community.adobe.com/t5/illustrator-discussions/illustrator-for-copilot-pcs-wanted-dead-or-al...

Then on the top right is the words: Get desktop app. Click that and it should do the download.

Hope this helps

[Urbankidd1954]

the link is wrong and when i try to post the right link it removes.

Just open up the adobe illustrator for the web from creative cloud and then you will see the get desktop app button

[Lukas Adam]

Hello, unfortunately there is no version beta to test in germany. Please give the german CC users also the beta. There is no need for it to be translated well. We only need illustrator working!

[POEten]

If you havent allready tried it, then copy the Illustrator folder from you x86 pc and copy it to your Copilot+ PC. It is a bit slow to start but it works fine - so far.

I copied it to this folder : "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator x 2024" 

I changed the foldername to "...x 2024" to make sure there would not be any problem when the official version is relased.

[mkl5419]

Well, it's coming uo on 6 months and just the Beta versions. We are a corporate user and will start looking elsewhere if this does not get resolved soon.  Please advise when Illustrator and Plug-Ins will be available (not Beta)?

[Bobby Henderson]

Developing a version of Adobe Illustrator coded for an ARM-flavored version of Windows isn't something that happens fast. As for plugins, most of those are developed by third party companies independent of Adobe. Each one of these companies has to make its own judgment call whether or not to port versions of their Illustrator plugins to the ARM version of Windows. They may have their hands full enough as it is just maintaining plugins for Mac OSX and the Intel version of Windows.

The Snapdragon X CPU looks fairly impressive for what it does, but I would be very hesitant to buy a computer based on a new/different CPU architecture without it already having a strong lineup of applications that run native on that architecture. It would be one thing to buy such a computer for personal use. It's much more risky buying such a computer meant for production work.

[ROOEASE]

I second this comment! I purchased the copilot not know adobe illustrator was not compatible. I was assured by adobe reps that it would be out in July 2024. It is not September 2024. My business runs on illustrator so it would be nice to use my new laptop for one ong the things I purchased it for...

[Red Penguin]

I think there might be a bit of confusion, so let me clarify....

The Copilot chatbot isn't actually related to what I was talking about.

I bought a Surface Laptop 7 (Microsoft calls it a Copilot+ PC) because its ARM processor offers great battery life for work on the go. After years of Windows laptops with short battery life, an ARM machine that does what I need without switching to a MacBook seemed perfect.

Adobe said Illustrator and InDesign would work on Windows ARM64 by July's end, which influenced my decision. The issue with Creative Cloud is it only lets you install the version it decides - in this case, not even the x64 version, but only the Apple tablet version. If I could download the x86 Illustrator, the Prism emulator could probably run it, but CC doesn't allow that.

I've always liked Creative Cloud, but some updates for customers would be great, especially when it affects our work. Even a quick heads-up would be appreciated, you know?

[Conrad_C]

What exactly is Microsoft Copilot supposed to do in relation to Adobe Illustrator? Isn't Copilot just some newfangled chat bot?

By @Bobby Henderson

No, this isn’t specifically about the Copilot feature in Windows, and not only about chatbots. It’s about Windows computers branded as “Copilot+ PCs”. That term represents a specific Microsoft performance standard enabled by certain hardware specifications, including a Neural Processing Engine (NPU) of 40 TOPS. The goal is ensuring a strong performance baseline for AI features of any kind, including, potentially, the AI features spreading across Adobe applications including Illustrator.

For example, if you are a Mac user, this started coming up four years ago when Apple began including the Apple Neural Engine NPU in their new ARM-based Apple Silicon SoCs. Although the Apple Neural Engine was not widely used in the beginning and is still not widely used in Adobe apps, recently Lightroom Classic (and I think Camera Raw?) have started using the Apple Neural Engine to provide hardware acceleration for AI Denoise. Although the GPU still provides most of the power behind accelerating AI Denoise, the Apple Neural Engine cuts AI Denoise processing time further.

Now that NPUs are starting to happen on the PC side, users like the one who started this thread are asking when Adobe will take full advantage of the Copilot+ PC spec to accelerate AI processing in Adobe apps, such as the generative AI features being added to Illustrator now.

If this plays out like it did on the Mac, it may take some time for Adobe to take advantage of the NPU in Copilot+ PCs, and the support might be incremental over time, not all AI features at once. In other words, don’t expect immediate huge benefits soon. I hope I am wrong and that NPU hardware acceleration of Adobe AI starts spreading much faster, on both PCs and Macs.

What is likely to happen much sooner than full use of the NPU is native support of and more complete optimization for Windows on ARM, in the same way that Illustrator for Mac was eventually recoded to run natively on Apple Silicon ARM.

[Michael38952425nitl]

I had the beta version installed and yesterday it quit working. I am so frustrated at the delay and unreliability of this product; which I pay monthly for. My business relies heavily on Illustrator and I feel like I am left hanging and all I did was buy a new laptop.

[Arne5D11]

Hi,

i need InDesin and Illustartor (SurfacePro 11). Can't find them in the Beta section. Why can i not just download the x86 Version. Should be slow, while emulated but better then noting.

Please give for access throgh beta for this Versions. 

THX