iOS Files app
Shares rank 13 of 15 file managers by recommenders
More people criticize it than recommend it. Built-in iOS file browser people use for iCloud, local and external drive files. Critics say it crashes, cannot reach Photos or Music, and lacks some features.
5 people recommended iOS Files app in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 11 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
4 of the 5 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10”.
Summary written by Claude from the comments below.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- mixed feelings
- 2
- warn against or regret it
- 11
The record
Recommended in 2 of 12 months
In 2 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 2 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 2 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- 4 of its 5 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 16 of the 20 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Cannot reach Photos, Music or app files
“Unfortunately a lot of apps have never caught up and will only save stuff in the pre-Files sandboxes”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10” “The Files app cannot access images in the Photos app or music in the Music app.”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services” “it gives you access to almost none of your actual files”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “I'm reluctant to verify my identity or age for any online services” Confusing, counter-intuitive behavior
“counter-intuitive behavior one could think of”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “Apple to focus on 'quality and underlying performance' with iOS 27 next year” “why is that the default in the first place?”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: What recent UX changes make no sense to you?” “It's unclear what "copy" even does.”
Comment from 26 May 2026 in “Dropbox CEO Drew Houston to step down” Behind rivals, needs improvement
“The Files app is occasionally useful and is better than the first decade, where iOS didn’t have one.”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Apple broke an essential presentation feature of iPads” “Try connecting to a WebDAV server on File. It's possible but it's shitty.”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10” “Files is behind the rest and can be a whole lot better”
Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Apple broke an essential presentation feature of iPads”
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Useful and preferred for daily file use
“the iPhone’s Files app is actually really useful for me”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10” “the iOS file explorer app is excellent”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10” “I still prefer the iOS Files app”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Android and iPhone users can now share files, starting with the Pixel 10”
Other file managers people recommend
The four most recommended other file managers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphin file manager | 66 | 8 | 16 | 80% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Finder (macOS) | 43 | 18 | 165 | 21% | 8 | 15 yrs21 people | — |
| Midnight Commander | 29 | 5 | 5 | 85% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Windows Explorer | 29 | 4 | 138 | 17% | 10 | — | — |
| iOS Files appThis page | 5 | 2 | 11 | 31% | 2 | — | — |
Also compared with File Pilot, Total Commander, Yazi and Nautilus.
What people said
16 of the 20 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Files is behind the rest and can be a whole lot better”
“The Files app is occasionally useful and is better than the first decade, where iOS didn’t have one.”
“disable ios Files’ setting to auto-delete at will”
“It's unclear what "copy" even does.”
“which is now deliberately missing from the object's context menu”
“The Files app cannot access images in the Photos app or music in the Music app.”
“it gives you access to almost none of your actual files”
“why is that the default in the first place?”
“Half of the time I'm fighting with Files' ability to persist my changes after it frequently crashes.”
“counter-intuitive behavior one could think of”
“You just plug any mass storage device into your iOS device and it shows up in the Files app”
“Unfortunately a lot of apps have never caught up and will only save stuff in the pre-Files sandboxes”
“I still prefer the iOS Files app”
“Try connecting to a WebDAV server on File. It's possible but it's shitty.”
“the iOS file explorer app is excellent”
“the iPhone’s Files app is actually really useful for me”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.