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.
This was the headline feature. You could draw a rectangle, rounded rectangle, or ellipse, and keep it as a "live shape" even after moving, scaling, or rotating it. Want to change the corner radius of a rounded rectangle 30 minutes later? Just grab the corner widget. No more hunting for path points. For UI/UX designers on Mac, this was a massive time-saver. Adobe Illustrator CC 2017 21.0.0 -MAC OS-
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
If you are on an old Intel Mac running Sierra or High Sierra, install version 21.1.0 (the update), not 21.0.0. If you are on a modern Mac, subscribe to the latest CC (2025/2026) or use the free alternative, Vectoraster or Inkscape . Pro tip for archiving: If you have the actual 21.0.0 installer, do not use it on macOS Catalina or newer. The "Quartz" rendering engine in 21.0.0 is deprecated and will cause phantom lines in your PDF exports. This was the headline feature
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.
Note: This software is legacy/outdated. This review evaluates its performance and features at the time of release and how it holds up against modern macOS versions. The "Touch Bar" Pioneer with Stability Trade-offs Overview Released in late 2016, Illustrator CC 2017 (v21.0.0) was Adobe’s first major jump into the post-CC 2015 era. For Mac users, this version is historically significant because it was the first version of Illustrator to natively support the MacBook Pro Touch Bar . Beyond that, it introduced "Live Shapes" and a modernized UI, but as a .0 release, it came with growing pains. The Good (Pros) 1. Native Touch Bar Support (Exclusive to Mac) If you owned a 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro, this was a game-changer. The Touch Bar gave you contextual controls (fill color, stroke width, alignment, text formatting) without lifting your hands from the keyboard. For Mac purists, this made Illustrator feel like a first-class citizen on Apple hardware.
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.
This was the headline feature. You could draw a rectangle, rounded rectangle, or ellipse, and keep it as a "live shape" even after moving, scaling, or rotating it. Want to change the corner radius of a rounded rectangle 30 minutes later? Just grab the corner widget. No more hunting for path points. For UI/UX designers on Mac, this was a massive time-saver.
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.
If you are on an old Intel Mac running Sierra or High Sierra, install version 21.1.0 (the update), not 21.0.0. If you are on a modern Mac, subscribe to the latest CC (2025/2026) or use the free alternative, Vectoraster or Inkscape . Pro tip for archiving: If you have the actual 21.0.0 installer, do not use it on macOS Catalina or newer. The "Quartz" rendering engine in 21.0.0 is deprecated and will cause phantom lines in your PDF exports.
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.
Note: This software is legacy/outdated. This review evaluates its performance and features at the time of release and how it holds up against modern macOS versions. The "Touch Bar" Pioneer with Stability Trade-offs Overview Released in late 2016, Illustrator CC 2017 (v21.0.0) was Adobe’s first major jump into the post-CC 2015 era. For Mac users, this version is historically significant because it was the first version of Illustrator to natively support the MacBook Pro Touch Bar . Beyond that, it introduced "Live Shapes" and a modernized UI, but as a .0 release, it came with growing pains. The Good (Pros) 1. Native Touch Bar Support (Exclusive to Mac) If you owned a 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro, this was a game-changer. The Touch Bar gave you contextual controls (fill color, stroke width, alignment, text formatting) without lifting your hands from the keyboard. For Mac purists, this made Illustrator feel like a first-class citizen on Apple hardware.