Adobe has finally fulfilled its long-standing promise to deliver native applications for Windows on Arm, with the beta release of Adobe Illustrator now available. This significant development marks a turning point for graphic designers who rely on one of the most popular vector graphics applications, now optimized for native performance on Arm-based systems.
Snapdragon laptops get one more big player
Historically, Adobe’s support for Windows on Arm has been perceived as somewhat lukewarm. While Photoshop has been accessible for some time, it has faced stability issues that took Adobe longer than expected to resolve. Currently, Lightroom is the only other Creative Cloud application functioning on Windows Arm devices, particularly those powered by Snapdragon X Elite chips. The introduction of Illustrator is a notable enhancement, providing designers with a robust tool for creating scalable designs that maintain quality across various formats, even in its beta stage.
Despite Adobe’s earlier commitment to release a beta version of Premiere Pro in July, this has yet to materialize. As the month draws to a close, video editors may find themselves turning to alternatives like DaVinci Resolve 19, which has already embraced native Arm support in its latest beta iteration.
Momentum is building
The arrival of Illustrator is part of a broader trend, as more applications are transitioning to native support for Windows on Arm. DaVinci Resolve’s recent update and Slack’s native Arm compatibility are significant milestones in this movement, especially since the previous x86 version of Slack was notably sluggish on Arm devices.
In addition, major web browsers, including Google Chrome, now operate natively on Arm, enhancing the usability of Windows on Arm laptops. This growing ecosystem of applications is paving the way for a more viable experience on these devices, although challenges remain, particularly in the gaming sector, which continues to be a hurdle for users.
