With Apple’s iOS, it has always felt like Apple has trying to control the user experience. A file manager felt unnecessary and superfluous for the average iPhone user. Before iOS 11 came along and finally gave iOS devices a default file manager, you either had to search for the file or use an app specialising in that particular file type.
The rise in popularity of third-party cloud storage seems to have necessitated this change, but before this, there were third party developers creating file management apps for the iPhone and iPad user who demanded a little more control. Let’s look at five of the best file managers for iPhones and iPads:
1. Documents by Readdle
Ranked number 8 on Apple’s app store in Productivity and possibly the most trusted and used third party file management app, no list can go without Documents. Currently sitting on its sixth iteration, with Documents you can watch your videos and set video speed. It also allows you to annotate PDFs. You have access to your entire Apple Music and iCloud library. It allows you to read eBooks and share files between your PC and Mac. It has a built in FTP server to help transfer files. Documents provides far more than its name suggests. A must have for any iOS user.
2. File Master
File Master provides users with a slick and simple interface. It allows users to manage and fix lost and forgotten passwords. It has a powerful music player that plays and supports avi, flv, rmvm, rm, mov, mp4, mp3, wma and m3u8 files. It has background play, so you don’t have to have the app opened to play your music files. It shows and plays snapshots of videos concurrently and has strong privacy protection so you can password protect your folders, documents and other files. You can hide and show folders, while it also has cloud storage support.
3. File Hub Plus
File Hub Plus is another nifty file management tool. It plays music and videos and provides users with a slide show functionality for photos. You can copy, cut, paste, rename and move your files. The music player displays artist pictures and allows you to seek and drag through the timeline bar. Users can use it to transfer files over Wi-Fi and even import files from iCloud. For file managers to be competitive they have to offer auxiliary functionality that goes beyond just being able to rename and delete files. File Hub has just the right mix of such functionality.
4. iExplorer Mobile
Fomerly known as Awesome file, iExplorer Mobile comes from the same makers of the iExplorer desktop app for Mac. The app comes with a webpage downloader that allows you to download web pages for offline reading. Users can record and edit voice memos and connect to a Mac to browse files. It can be used to create, edit and save text files and can stream music directly from your Dropbox and create playlists.
5. File App
File App allows you to share images to social media. It has robust wireless transfer that takes into account situations that may impede file transfer like firewalls. Its main concern is protecting the user’s data, so the first thing it asks for upon opening is the user’s passcode. It has a built-in image editor where users can create slide shows. You can play music videos from the app, while it also allows background play. It also allows you to send multiple attachments as email.
Final Word
iOS’s proprietary file management app has improved and is sure to improve further, but it still hasn’t caught up with its third-party competitors. They have not been rendered obsolete, and it feels like they won’t be any time soon. If you’ve already given some of these a try, share your experiences, and don’t hesitate to point out any apps we missed.
Lover of code, freelance writer, a misanthropic humanist and a comical absurdist.
Our latest tutorials delivered straight to your inbox
