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Comment by sussmannbaka | Hacker News Reader

Im not sure if Android has caught up but the iOS file explorer app is excellent.

Saying "I'm not sure if Android has caught up" when Android is decades ahead of Apple in that regard is some kind of... something.

Certainly wasn’t ahead with the stock file manager that came with my last Android phone.

What about after you spent the two seconds to install a different file manager?

Ghost Commander was better but I think I still prefer the iOS Files app.

Your Samsung or whatever manufacturer bloated trash ≠ Android.

I used the AOSP app I think? I’d usually agree with you but in this case I really wanted some more bloat because that one was dire :)

That also could have been from the phone manufacturer OR from the carrier.

This is why I've avoided non Pixel phones since the Pixel5 came out. None of that 2 or 3 apps for the same thing so everybody can get their ad cut payout.

Still no smb/webdav/sftp somehow...

https://sites.google.com/site/ghostcommander1

Whenever I'm forced to help with iPhones, I'm baffled how hard everything is. And I had my own iPhones previously. Download a file, unpack it and open in an app is an exercise is frustration, and that's just hoping that I will find the file due it being newest. Working with directories and old files properly, like on Android, I'm not sure if its even possible on iOS. And all that with a crappy keyboard with hidden numbers and special symbols, making searching even harder.

I'm pretty sure that iOS only has a file explorer app because Android supported it.

There was almost a whole decade there where Apple pretended that the feature just didn't need to exist.

To be fair, Android lacked a stock file browser for much of its existence.

The difference is that iOS still doesn't show you the files on your device. It only shows you files in a small area.

I love Android but Android does that too. Apps have their internal storage area which you can't access unfortunately (not without root anyway). Nor system files.

When I had an iPhone (a few months ago), there was no way for apps to see files in the filesystem. I wanted to play some music and I had to copy it over to each of the music player apps separately. Is that not the case any more?

That’s entirely up to the app developer. Of course apps can see files if they’re developed to do that.

VLC for iOS uses the filesystem. You can add files with Finder (newer macOS), iTunes (older macOS), or the Files app on the phone.

You are correct that each app can only see a specific part of the filesystem, unless the apps are by the same developer and part of an App Group.

There's a difference between "can't see 'special' folders" & "can't access anything but the app-specific storage". iOS loves the latter, while Android lets you organize files mostly normally even if doing highly stupid/discouraging things for power users & some app developers making questionable non-default choices.

While I bet there’s some technicality I’ll get gotcha’d on, iOS apps do the exact same nowadays.

iOS apps didn't, for the majority of the iPhone's lifespan. I explained this "technicality" upthread:

> There was almost a whole decade there where Apple pretended that the feature just didn't need to exist.

The history lesson is appreciated but how does this relate to the current state of the stock file explorer that ships with the OS? I’m using my phone now and not ten years ago.

edit: oh, I think I get it. My original post wasn't intended to be read "iOS invented the file explorer, has Android also a file explorer app" (which would be silly, of course) but "when Files app released, the AOSP file explorer that commonly ships as the default was lacking, has this improved (caught up to Files app)"

Maybe include the word "default file manager" next time :)).

Android is possibility/ (overdose of) options Apple is polished (and late).

Different strokes for different folks

Remember folks, the iphone was released in 2007, and the files app in 2017. Cut & paste? Apple didn't give ios a clipboard until 2021.

> Apple didn't give ios a clipboard until 2021.

Apple added copy/paste in iOS 3.0 in 2009

Am I supposed to be mad about them not supporting a feature during a time when I didn’t use iOS or is this somehow supposed to impact my current day use of Files app?

"Im not sure if Android has caught up but the iOS file explorer app is excellent." ~ you several posts up.

Was the list time you had an Android pre-2017?

It was around that time it (Files app) got a major refresh.

Try connecting to a WebDAV server on File. It's possible but it's shitty. And try using Syncthing on iOS to keep your files synced across devices without having them uploaded to servers you don't control.

Also, on Android, you can choose any file explorer. You're stuck with Files and it sucks (but it looks nice).

I don’t have one of those! I do have an SMB share mounted that I’m currently playing music from, though, and it’s working perfectly fine.

The difference is that the Files app works with third party cloud storage providers.

Next time you give Android a try, you might like Solid Explorer https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.solidexplor...

The one major issue is that it doesn’t work inside other apps. If I save something in Word, it pops up the standard File dialog and every storage provider available for my iOS device - Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, local storage, network drives, and locally connected mass storage devices are available.

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