Adobe Aero

Adobe Aero was Adobe's free AR authoring app for iOS, Android and desktop, launched at Adobe MAX 2019 so designers could build interactive AR scenes. Adobe discontinued it in stages: removed from app stores on November 6, 2025, decommissioned on December 3, 2025, and user data deleted on December 16, 2025.

Also known as: Aero, Adobe Aero app, .real files

Hatred Looms At The Speed Of Sound by Zen Materialist, a figure sculpture in augmented reality among trees in a forest
Hatred Looms At The Speed Of Sound by Zen Materialist
Viewed in AR with illust

How it works

Aero scenes (.real files) stopped working for authors and viewers on December 3, 2025. Adobe said the AR landscape had changed since 2020 and it would focus resources on other areas.

How it works in illust

illust can't import .real files, but you can rebuild Aero scenes from the source images, video, audio and .glb models in the AR Studio, or have illust's creative services team rebuild them.

Switch from Adobe Aero

Key facts

  • Nov 6, 2025: removed from Creative Cloud, the App Store and Google Play; installed apps kept working.
  • Dec 3, 2025: decommissioned; .real scenes stopped working.
  • Dec 16, 2025: user data deleted (Adobe HelpX).

Watch

Don't let your artwork disappear illust co-founder Rob McCarty on moving Adobe Aero projects to illust's AR Studio.

FAQ

Can I recover my Aero projects?

Not from Adobe; files were deleted on December 16, 2025. Your original source assets (images, video, audio, 3D) can be rebuilt elsewhere.

Was Aero free?

Yes. Adobe says Aero was always free, so its shutdown didn't affect Creative Cloud subscriptions.

Related terms

No-code AR software (AR studio)No-code AR software lets you build and publish augmented reality experiences by uploading media and arranging it visually, without writing code.WebAR (web-based augmented reality)WebAR is augmented reality that runs inside a smartphone's web browser, such as Safari or Chrome, instead of a downloaded app.Spark AR (Meta Spark)Spark AR, later renamed Meta Spark, was Meta's free tool for building augmented reality effects for Instagram, Facebook and Messenger.GLB file (glTF)A GLB file is a 3D model saved in the binary version of glTF 2.0, an open format from the Khronos Group.

More in this topic

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AR art exhibition

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AR marketing (brand activations)

AR marketing uses augmented reality to engage people at a place, event or product, through interactive pop-ups, festival quests, murals that come alive or packaging that plays content.

AR mural

An AR mural is a painted or printed wall that comes to life through a phone: when the camera recognizes the mural, animation, 3D elements or sound appear on and around it.

AR QR code

An AR QR code is a standard QR code that links to an augmented reality experience.

By Rob McCarty, co-founder of illust · Last updated October 21, 2026