News

Adobe Adds Mobile Previews to App UX Design Tool

• By David Ramel
• September 27, 2016

Adobe Systems Inc. added new mobile workflows to its XD design tool so app UX/UI designers working on computers can see instant previews on the actual iOS and Android devices that will be running their apps.

Adobe Experience Design CC (Adobe XD), now in preview, received the new functionality in a new update announced yesterday.

"We're thrilled to announce that we now have Adobe XD companion apps for iPhones, iPads and Android phones (tablet support is on the way)," said Adobe's Demian Borba in a blog post.

"No other app on the market lets designers preview designs and test prototypes at the same time, as part of one integrated workflow," Borba continued. "All you need to do is connect your mobile device to your computer using a USB cable (wireless support is coming later), open an XD project on your desktop and boom! You'll see your project reflected on your device, in real-time -- no refreshing needed."

The companion apps are now available in the Google Play store for Android phones and the App Store/iTunes for Apple devices.

Adobe said its XD tool, available now for MacOS X (Windows version coming), was created to let Web and mobile designers quickly design, prototype and share their projects with developers and other stakeholders. Before XD's preview launch in March, this required multiple tools and services that needed to be cobbled together manually, the company said.

In addition to leveraging the new mobile device previews, other enhancements to the tool in the September update let UX designers:

• Lock aspect ratios to preserve an object's proportions when resizing objects on the canvas.
• Zoom to any selection on the canvas using the new 'Cmd+3' shortcut.
• Create, move or remove the 'fold' (blue dashed line), so as to define a customized viewport height for vertical scrolling in prototypes.
• Use the new Slide transition, creating a parallax effect.
• Share unique URLs to take people to specific artboards in Web prototypes.
• Explore a friendlier first-time experience, along with an improved sample file.