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Sketch

DESIGN
Velocity2.5

Sketch's third named release of 2026 deepens Stacks rather than widening the app.

design-toolslayout-systemsmac-nativerelease-cadencedeveloper-handoff
Current state
Sketch ships three named Mac releases a year — Dublin in April, Edinburgh in June, now Florence in August — each bundling long-requested craft features. Florence concentrates on Stacks, adding sizing and layout options, and extends effects and shadows to more places in the app. Point releases in between carry those features forward with fixes and nothing else. The web app runs on its own track, most recently gaining a Command Bar, reworked notifications, and steady developer-handoff work.
Where it's heading
The release cadence is unusually legible: a named feature drop roughly every two months, patches between them, and no attempt to chase adjacent categories. Florence continues a pattern of finishing systems already in the product rather than starting new ones — Stacks has now been extended in consecutive releases, and effects coverage is being made uniform rather than novel. Sketch is competing on depth of the native Mac editor while the web app absorbs the collaboration and handoff expectations set elsewhere.
Prediction
Expect a 2026.3.x patch within a few weeks carrying Florence forward with fixes, and the next named release to keep closing gaps in Stacks and effects rather than opening a new surface.

Recent moves

  1. 21d ago

    Stacks gain sizing and layout options; shadows reach more places

    Florence extends Stacks with more sizing and layout control and broadens where effects and shadows can be applied. It is the third named release of 2026 and continues the pattern of deepening existing systems rather than adding new ones.

  2. 2mo ago

    Web app: Command Bar and better notifications

    The web app gains a Command Bar for navigation and a rebuilt notifications experience. Both are table stakes for a collaborative workspace and mark the web client maturing on a separate track from the Mac editor.

  3. 2mo ago

    Edinburgh features roll forward with minor fixes

    A point release carrying the Edinburgh feature set forward with minor improvements and bug fixes. Standard maintenance between named releases.

  4. 2mo ago

    Edinburgh (2026.2)

    Edinburgh brought multi-paste, perceptual and vibrant gradients, symbol and Library performance work, and prototype player options. A characteristic Sketch bundle of long-standing requests rather than a directional move.

  5. 4mo ago

    Dublin features carried forward with fixes (2026.1.2)

    The second Dublin patch, carrying that release forward with minor improvements and fixes. No user-visible capability change.

  6. 5mo ago

    First Dublin patch: minor improvements and fixes (2026.1.1)

    The first Dublin patch, shipping minor improvements and bug fixes on top of the April release. Routine maintenance in the gap between named updates.