Growth of Adobe Reader Installer Size Over Time

In this blog post, Alexander Gromnitsky analyzes the growth in size of Adobe Reader installers over the years, particularly the 64-bit versions. The most recent installer for Adobe Reader 25.x.y.z for Windows 11 weighs a massive 687 MB, containing AI features, an auto-updater, and ads for Acrobat online services. The comparison is made with SumatraPDF-3.5.2, a lightweight PDF reader that weighs only around 8 MB and does not include unnecessary features like AI or ads. Gromnitsky also shares a chart that visually represents the growth of Adobe Reader’s installer size through different versions, which has become significantly larger over time. The post highlights the trend towards feature bloat in software, drawing attention to the inclusion of auto-updaters and advertisements in otherwise simple software like Adobe Reader. A comment on Hacker News humorously describes the graph as a ‘chart crime scene’, indicating the overwhelming and often unnecessary growth in size. The blog post offers a detailed look at the implications of this size increase, providing insights into the direction Adobe Reader is heading with its increasing feature set.