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Why Adobe has Phased Out XD

While Adobe hasn’t formally "killed" XD, all signs point to a slow and quiet sunset. Here's why:

Blocked Figma Acquisition

Adobe tried to acquire Figma for $20B, which was eventually blocked by regulators in multiple countries. 

Stalled Development

Adobe XD hasn’t seen meaningful feature updates in quite some time.

Users have noticed a lack of plugin ecosystem growth, poor collaborative functionality, and outdated prototyping features.

Shift in Strategy

Adobe is refocusing on its core creative tools and AI.

Figma already took its place for most teams. It dominates collaboration, prototyping, and UI design — especially among startups, agencies, and product-led orgs.

Adobe Express & Illustrator for Lite UX Work

Adobe is nudging some users toward Adobe Express, which supports lightweight design and collaboration.

Illustrator has also gained more screen-design-friendly features, but it’s still not purpose-built for UX.

So What Does This Mean for Designers?

If you’re still using XD, it’s probably time to start migrating to Figma, Sketch, or Framer, depending on your needs.

And if you're in the Adobe ecosystem? Don’t expect a new UX tool from them anytime soon. The focus has shifted — and the future of UX tooling seems to be happening outside Adobe’s walls.

Adobe XD continues to be a available within the Adobe ecosystem. It’s known for its streamlined design-to-prototype workflow, deep integration with other Adobe tools (like Photoshop and Illustrator), and a professional polish that suits both individual designers and enterprise teams.

How Adobe XD Is Used

UI & UX Design

Designers create screens, user flows, and high-fidelity interfaces using vector tools and reusable components.

Prototyping & Interactions

XD allows for interactive prototypes with animated transitions, hover states, and micro-interactions, great for user testing or stakeholder demos.

Design Systems & Components

Teams create and manage libraries of components, colors, and text styles across projects for consistency and scalability.

Developer Handoff

With "Share for Development," developers get access to specs, downloadable assets, and CSS snippets in a browser view.

Plugins & Integrations

A growing ecosystem of plugins supports everything from user flow diagramming to accessibility checks to direct collaboration with external tools.

Adobe XD in UXR (User Experience Research)

Adobe XD supports UX researchers by offering practical tools for turning research insights into testable experiences and visual deliverables.

Prototype-Based Usability Testing

Researchers use XD prototypes in moderated or unmoderated tests via testing platforms (like UserTesting, Maze, etc.). Prototypes can be interactive enough to simulate end-to-end flows.

Annotated Flows

UXRs can use artboards to display annotated user journeys, highlight problem areas, or embed user quotes and findings.

Design-Informed Research

By collaborating with designers inside XD files, researchers can validate specific interaction patterns or layout decisions with real users.

Workshop Preparation

XD artboards can be laid out to present research findings in an engaging visual narrative — great for workshops or presentations to stakeholders.

Collaborative Review & Commenting

Stakeholders and team members can leave feedback directly in shared prototypes, making it easier to keep insights actionable and in context.

Component-Level Testing

XD’s reusable components make it easy to isolate specific UI elements for quick concept testing or preference studies.

In Summary:

Adobe XD in 2025 remains an available tool for design and prototyping, particularly if your organization already embedded in the Adobe suite. For UX researchers, it supports user testing, design collaboration, and visual communication of research insights, all within a platform that's polished and efficient.