Element Classic vs Adobe Connect
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Element Classic
This app is a legacy version of a communication platform, offering secure messaging and collaboration. It will receive security updates until the end of 2025 but no new features.
- Secure messaging
- Collaboration
- Legacy version
- Security updates
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Element Classic is the previous-generation of Element mobile app. Friends, family and communities should use the free and open source Element X app which is faster, easier to use, and more powerful. New users of public sector organisations, enterprises and professional teams users should use the Element Pro app that is built for work and organizations. Element Classic is available at least until the end of 2025 and will receive critical security updates but no further enhancements or new features.
Adobe Connect
Attend virtual meetings, webinars, and classrooms directly from your mobile device. Participate in live discussions, view shared content like presentations and videos, and collaborate with others through chat and polls.
- Attend meetings, webinars, and virtual classrooms
- Participate in chat, polls, and Q&A
- View shared presentations, videos, and screen sharing
- Use VoIP or telephone conferencing for audio
- Participate in breakout rooms
- Download files and click links
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Attend meetings, webinars, and virtual classrooms with Adobe Connect. Adobe Connect for iOS brings critical meeting capabilities to your mobile device, enabling you to attend meetings directly from your iPhone or iPad. The Adobe Connect application delivers a modern user interface, supports high resolution camera broadcast, and supports both landscape and portrait viewing. Join any Standard View or Enhanced Audio/Video Experience enabled meetings. Use your built-in microphone and speakers, a connected headset, or a Bluetooth device such as Apple AirPods to join meeting audio. Or join a telephone conference if included with the meeting. Participate in video conferencing using your device’s cameras. View high quality PowerPoint® presentations, videos, PDF documents, images, GIF animations, or desktop computer screens being shared. Participate in chat, vote in polls, read notes, download files, click links, ask questions, raise your hand, agree/disagree, or let the host know you have stepped away. FEATURES: • Talk and listen using your microphone and speakers (VoIP) or another device • View cameras being shared and share your camera if allowed • View PowerPoint slides being shared • View screen sharing being shared • View whiteboards or annotations on content • View MP4 videos, JPG and PNG images, and animated GIFs being shared • View PDF documents being shared • Listen to MP3 audio being shared • View and participate with custom pods • Participate in chat, including selecting colors and private chats in chat pods and chat panel • Participate in polls, including multiple-choice, multiple-answer, and short answer • View notes including formatting and hyperlinks • Ask questions and see other questions and responses in Q&A • Download files directly to your device • Click on links to visit websites with your mobile browser • Change your status: including Raise Hand, Agree / Disagree, and Stepped Away • Participate in breakout rooms with audio, cameras, and chat • Support for Single Sign-On requiring two-factor authentication • As a host, login, accept guests, and promote others • Participant can access and participate in Quiz • Participant can see Closed Captions if enabled by host for the room. Support for additional meeting activities will be coming soon. This application does not yet support drawing on whiteboards, or note taking. These activities can be accessed by joining the meeting using a standard mobile browser. Note: This application is NOT for watching recordings. Adobe Connect recordings can be viewed using a standard mobile browser while online. Requirements: iOS 13.0 or higher. Devices supported: iPhone 6s or higher, iPad 5th generation or higher. Requires WiFi or a standard 4G/5G mobile connection.
Screenshots
Verdict
Element Classic and Adobe Connect both sit at 3.3 stars, but that hides the real split: 44% of Element Classic's written reviews are positive against 25% of Adobe Connect's. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.3 for Element Classic against 3.4 for Adobe Connect. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 578 and 221 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 44% of Element Classic's written reviews are positive against 25% of Adobe Connect's.
Element Classic ships an update monthly, Adobe Connect every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Element Classic | Adobe Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (578 ratings) | 3.4 (221 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 578 — better | 221 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 172 MB | 187 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vector Creations Limited | Adobe Inc. |
Customer experience
Element Classic
Adobe Connect
User reviews
Element Classic
From 578 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 💡 Innovative features
- 🌐 Decentralized and open-source
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and unstable
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 📚 Steep learning curve
- 🤔 Confusing user experience
- 🚫 Lack of key features
Adobe Connect
From 221 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- ✨ Attractive interface
- 🚀 Faster than old version
- 💖 Good experience for online school
- 👍 Convenient for staying online
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Unstable performance
- 🐛 Audio issues
- 🐛 Video/audio lag
- 🐛 Poor UI/UX
Bugs and requests
Element Classic
Reported bugs
5 issues- Constant crashes and freezes
- Issues with message decryption and verification
- Unreliable notifications and sync issues
- Inability to leave or delete empty rooms
- Problems with image and video sharing
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to pause notifications
- Option to set messages to disappear after a certain time
- Improved search functionality
- Better integration with other apps and services
- Customizable font size and notification sounds
Adobe Connect
Reported bugs
73 issues- App crashes all the time
- Sound only works 10% of the time
- Commute mode: sound has not worked
- Cannot write messages in main tab on iPad
- SSO not working
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- Does not verify session links
- Not working on iOS 26
- Audio comes out like on phone
- Cannot record session from phone
- Audio impossible to make work on iPad
- Cannot register, forgot password emails never arrive
- Problems with image vs. audio
- Cannot increase speed to watch videos
- Audio stream not uninterrupted on mobile data
- Doesn't join rooms anymore
- Shared PDF image disappears or doesn't load
- Kicks out constantly and doesn't allow re-entry
- Sends to 'Join Room' with no way out
- Choppy video and audio
- Laggy on iPad Pro
- Very glitchy
- Connection errors
- Too many bugs during sessions
- Slides and videos not visible to participants
- HTML pods presentation unpredictable
- Customizable pods hit or miss
- Chat box frozen
- Users stuck with old version bugs
- Screenshots rotated 90 degrees
- No audio in meetings
- Not compatible with screen readers
- Constant network problems, users kicked out
- Cannot see shared screen on iPad Pro
- No sharing possible
- Constant crashing, kicked out every 10 minutes
- App does not work
- Auto login process fails when redirecting from website
- Force Touch link not available
- App not developed for iPhone or iPad
- Audio cut out often, app crashed every 10-15 minutes
- Desktop version has significant video delay
- Cannot connect app from Safari
- Audio hacks sometimes, app needs restart
- Chat window snags, miss current messages
- PDFs not visible in class
- Mute button kept disappearing
- Lost visual and could not answer poll questions
- Sound volume fluctuated, no handouts, app froze, could not view presentation
- Cannot hear audio in live meetings
- Cannot open webinar
- Cannot see screen while attending meeting
- Cannot access PDF files or view presented PDFs
- Cannot see shared screen
- Cannot connect from Safari
- Audio hacks, app needs restart
- PDF not supported
- Infinite loading circle
- Username/password not accepted by new app
- Cannot see uploaded PDFs on tablet
- Have to sacrifice screen to see chat
- Only one option for screen share + camera
- Everything on separate screens in pods, miss a lot
- Cannot use half the features
- Doesn't work, jumps from Chrome to app
- Keeps giving 'enter a valid link' error
- Cannot go to meeting when tapping open on browser
- Stuck in a loop, tells to install app when already installed
- Lost many classes because of this
- Cannot leave/switch room if meeting hasn't started
- App stays 'hanging'
- Had to delete and reinstall app to enter correct room
- Cannot open webinar
- Cannot see screen during meeting
Requested features
12 requests- Bring back old app
- Add recording session from mobile
- Needs emoticons and hand gestures
- Add Notes for app version
- Support for PDF Files
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- Make chat popup
- Allow viewing screen share + camera simultaneously
- Add Q&A support
- Make it easier to connect or share link
- Be able to exit chat box without restarting
- Add dark mode
- Advanced analytics dashboard
In-app purchases
Element Classic
No in-app purchases
Adobe Connect
No in-app purchases





