While Arduino IDE 2.0 offers modern features like autocomplete and a built-in debugger, the 1.8 series remains popular for several reasons:
It typically opens faster and uses fewer system resources than the Electron-based 2.0 version. Installation Guide Bring Your Projects to Life with Arduino Software arduino 1.8 download
It is a mature platform with fewer bugs than the complete rewrite seen in 2.0. While Arduino IDE 2