ES File Explorer File Manager is an Android app that makes finding and interacting with the files on your Android smartphone as easy as possible. It does this with a combination of desktop-grade features such as compressed folder support, cloud storage support for Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and many more as well as the option to create 256-bit AES encrypted archives. On top of all that, there are simple, and easy-to-use features included for casual users such as a built-in clean up tool, a simple and good-looking interface as well as simple file sorting options by type, such as videos, documents and photos. With many, many features to list, there’s a lot to cover with ES File Explorer File Manager, perhaps too much to list here in one review. Either way, let’s take a closer look.
First off, users that are in need of a quality file browser for Android can download ES File Explorer File Manager from the Play Store. Once they have done, launching it will give them an overview of their device’s storage.
This is a quick and simple overview of all the files on your device, and it works really well, making it super-simple for users to see recent files and such just by scrolling further down.
On top of this, there are easy ways to sort through all of the different file types on your device. If you’re anything like I am, then you’ll probably have images all over the storage on your device, which is something that can be a pain to sort through. With ES File Explorer File Manager, all users need to do is choose from one of the categories below, and the app will show you all the different files of that type on your device.
This is a great feature for casual users, as well as the plain lazy, as it means that they don’t need to remember where their files are; they can just hit “pictures” and be presented with all of the pictures on their device, regardless of which app they were taken with. Of course, our smartphones these days often generate a lot of needless files and such, which is why it’s good to see that ES File Explorer File Manager has a nice Cleaner feature built-in to it.
When using this feature, users can go ahead and make some changes to the recommended clean up options. Unsurprisingly, this is a feature that’s more concerned with files and folders than it is anything else, but it makes it super-simple to keep your file system clean and present to you unwanted files and such. Being able to check just which files and folders are deleted is nice as well, giving users some sort of control over their file system.
There are even some warnings included, which will be helpful to users that don’t want to end up deleting the wrong files from their devices.
Whenever a user ends up cleaning their device, they’re presented with a report of sorts, which offers up what appears to be some ads and such, but these are easily-ignored, and it is always nice to get some feedback on how much you’ve removed from your device.
All of these features can be easily-accessed when using ES File Explorer File Manager, the pull-out menu from the left-hand side will give users simple access to them as well. These features include some special extras, such as a root file explorer.
Of course, not every Android app is perfect, and just like others out there, ES File Explorer File Manager has its problems, too. Since Android 6.0 Marshmallow changed the rules when it comes to asking permission for things, a lot of file browsers like this one find it difficult to access the SD cards a lot of phones have. Sadly, ES File Explorer File Manager doesn’t try all that hard when it comes to offering help to those that need to give the app permission to this, either.
This is confusing, even to me, and it definitely puts a spanner in the works of what is otherwise a quality experience overall. Even so, there are lots of features inside of ES File Explorer File Manager that will appeal to modern users, such as the ability to connect to and share with anyone cloud storage files.
For those that are looking at using ES File Explorer as an app to replace all their other file browsers, especially those that are used exclusively for cloud storage, they’ll be happy to know that it supports Dropbox, Box.net, Sugarsync, Google Drive, OneDrive(SkyDrive), Amazon S3 and Yandex options to name just a few. In keeping with the whole network theme, ES File Explorer has always been a great choice for those looking to share files between devices on the same local network. This is great for those looking to play movies from their computer, or even install ES File Explorer on their Android TV and then use it to play files from their home network.
The competition for file browsers on Android has always been fierce, and it’s something that a lot of people will be able to attest to. There are so many options out there in the Play Store that it’s pretty easy to find something that does what you need. With ES File Explorer File Manager however, the developers have aimed to stand aside from the crowd with some pretty impressive features, such as a root explorer, ways to manage cloud storage, as well as network features, too. Everything is packed into one neat package, and there’s more than enough on offer for even the most demanding users out there. It’s free to download and use, and it doesn’t bombard users with a huge number of ads or anything like that. For a file browser that does everything you need it to as well as adding in some niceties, this is something that’s worth checking out.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – From launching quickly to unpacking archives in a speedy manner, ES File Explorer File Manager is one of the quicker file browsers out there, and it’s one that will help keep your device clean and speedy, too.
- Theme (4/5) – Definitely one of the better-looking file browsers out there, ES File Explorer File Manager looks good, has a simple interface that’s easy-to-use and offers users a quality experience all round.
- Features (5/5) – Not only is it difficult to list all of the features that ES File Explorer File Manager has on offer, but it’s also one of the quickest and most straightforward apps out there. It’s simple, yet powerful and it should help the majority of users make the most of their storage without issues.
- Overall (4/5) – A quality Android app that makes searching for, finding and manipulating files on your smartphone a real breeze, ES File Explorer File Manager looks the part, runs well and won’t trip up users when it comes to actually getting stuff done.
Pros
- Works well on practically every Android smartphone out there, all the while making sure that users can access their files quickly without any hassle.
- Doesn’t give users too many ads to work with, despite the fact that it’s free.
- Allows Users to connect to all kinds of cloud storage options including Dropbox, Box.net, Sugarsync, Google Drive, OneDrive(SkyDrive), Amazon S3 and Yandex.
- Clean and good-looking interface makes the overall experience much better compared to other file browsers on Android.
Cons
- Doesn’t make it easy to figure out how to give permission to use the SD card port on devices.
- Might feel a little too simple for more experienced users looking for something a little more complex.
All-in-all, ES File Explorer is a great file browser to consider on Android, and it’s the sort of thing that will appeal to a mixture of different users out there. Especially those that don’t want to spend time looking their files to find their pictures or videos. It all looks good as well, and has some pretty nice extra features included, too.