These days, our phones are every bit as powerful and capable as our computers are, and they require a dedicated file management system to keep your essential documents in order. The manufacturer usually provides a default file management solution, but they often lack the critical features you need to manage and organize your files.
Thankfully, there are other options for you. Let’s take a closer look at five of the best options available in the app store.
After a makeover, Google’s Files Go app became Files by Google — and it’s our favorite file manager for Android. It has a clean look and it’s very easy to use, with three main functions: Clean, Browse, and Share, appearing as tabs along the bottom. You’ll get suggestions to delete files you no longer need, like junk files and backed-up photos. You can browse through the categories on your phone, search for files, rename them, back them up to the MicroSD card or the cloud, and more. There’s also a handy, secure tool for rapidly sharing files with people nearby that uses Wi-Fi Direct.
Here’s a free Android file manager with a wealth of features that enable you to find, move, delete, and share files on your smartphone. It can also access your MicroSD card, shared LAN files, and a range of different cloud storage accounts, allowing you to stream photos, music, or even videos. You’ll find compression and analyzer tools here as well, rounding out a decent package that will be more than enough for most people.
This file manager is all substance and very little style, but it is absolutely packed with features. It supports dual-pane browsing, which makes moving files very easy, you can hook it up a number of cloud storage services, and it has built-in music and video players. It also allows for sharing via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, has a secure vault for sensitive files, and can offer full access to system data for rooted phones. You can even use X-plore to share folders of files across a LAN.
This file manager offers a similar laundry list of features including dual-view mode, configurable network access, cloud storage support, image viewer, media player, and more — but you will have to pay $3 for the FX+ license key to unlock all the features. We appreciate the commitment to no advertisements and no tracking of user activity. It has great sharing options, too, with an easy drag-and-drop function that allows you to share files through your computer’s web browser via Wi-Fi, or phone-to-phone with Wi-Fi Direct.
You can try this file manager out for free for two weeks before you have to pay, so it’s worth checking out. It also offers dual-window support, cloud service integration, root access, fast search, batch rename, remote access, built-in music player, image viewer, and a lot more. What sets it apart from some of the others on our list is the customization options, which go beyond picking colors to themes and icon sets.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.