Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 (21.0.0) was a necessary step forward—introducing Live Shapes and Touch Bar workflows that feel standard today. However, as a , it was beta-quality software. It crashed, it confused users with UI changes, and it is completely obsolete on modern Apple Silicon hardware.

A bizarre UI regression: In the first release of 21.0.0, Adobe moved "Save As" inside "Export" for specific cloud workflows. The backlash was immediate, and Adobe patched it, but for the first month, veteran Mac users were furious trying to find standard file saving.

Adobe began leveraging Apple’s Metal graphics API. Panning and zooming on complex vector art became significantly smoother on Retina displays. The "Zoom to 400%" felt snappy compared to the laggy CPU rendering of CS6.