File Expert has been a well-known and popular Android file browser for years now, and it’s been updated with a number of key features throughout its lifetime. We’ve taken more than a few close looks at File Expert over the years, and in this latest update, the developers have focused on making the Cloud services much more useful than before. Now, File Expert comes with all the same features, like being able to extract archives, connect to local network sources, play any file format or see any image as well as make finding images easier as well as offer you a Private Cloud experience and play video from your Cloud Storage accounts, too. For many, File Expert will already be one of their first choices for a file browser, but let’s take a closer look at what’s new.
As always, users can find File Expert to download in the Play Store, and from there, they can launch the app to see what it’s all about. For new users running Android 6.0 Marshmallow or above, the way that Android asks for permissions has changed, and File Expert clearly goes through the permissions that it needs as well as explains why it needs them, which is a nice touch, for sure.
Right away, users will be granted with a view of their overall file structure. In many ways, File Expert is a more classical approach to a file browser, albeit one that has a clean and sleek Material Design to it. Users are free to look around their files as they would on their computer, like this:
Or, they can go ahead and scroll down to the advanced features part of the app, which will allow users to quickly and easily find different types of files on their devices, regardless of where in the tree of folders these files are. This is a great feature for more casual users that might be looking for APK files, for instance.
For users that like to do more than one thing at once and know what they’re doing – that means you, power users – File Expert offers a solid multi-tab interface, one that’s not too tricky to get used to, either.
File Expert has a lot of different features all bundled into one app, but one of the best will be the ability to play video files there and then. This will often end up quicker than opening up the file in another app, and of course saves you the space of having another app downloaded on to your phone.
While this works great for locally-stored files, it can also be a great way of watching videos on your tablet or smartphone that are stored on your computer’s hard drive, which often has more space. This is because File Expert supports all kinds of different network shares, and makes taking advantage of your home network super-easy.
You’ll notice that there are cloud services listed here as well, and now File Expert offers users the ability to play videos they have stored in the Cloud, too. Again, this is a new feature that has only just been implemented in File Expert, so some of you might not have given this a try.
Being able to access and play your files from your Google Drive or Dropbox accounts is great, but not everyone is happy to trust these companies with their files. Even more so after the Dropbox account scandal from earlier this year. As a result, File Expert now offers something called the “Private Cloud”. This is pretty self-explanatory, but what this allows users to do is download an app to their computer, sign up for an account and then effectively link files on their PC so they can access them everywhere.
So, this would allow users to keep one copy of sensitive documents or images on their hard drive at home, but log in to access it everywhere else from the File Expert app on their Android smartphone or tablet.
Having to install another piece of software to your computer might be something of a hassle for some people, but it does allow for some pretty impressive functionality, without having to jump through many hoops.
Using this app on their computers, they can easily go ahead and close down the service whenever they want to, which again puts more control in the hand of the user.
After spending some time with this latest update to File Expert, it’s no wonder why the app has been trusted by so many people over the years. Not only is it now a good-looking app, thanks to its quality Material Design look and feel, it’s also packed full of functionality. Unlike many file browsers on Android, File Expert doesn’t try too hard in order to woo the casual users out there, and instead sticks to offering those users that know what they’re doing a way of accessing all of their files. It does with so without any hassle, and will even give them a way to watch video files from their personal cloud storage accounts as well. Speaking of the Cloud, being able to effectively create your own cloud storage service with a simple download of an app, File Expert offers something that not a lot of apps can claim to. It might not be the perfect solution to this, but it does offer a private cloud solution without much of the hassle that other, more complicated solutions certainly come with. It’s free to use, and even if you don’t want to use this all of the time, users can simply connect to their Google Drive, Dropbox or other account from within the app.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – This is a quick and speedy Android app, and one that offers users all manner of features without having them wait around for them, either.
- Theme (4/5) – Everything here looks good, and it’s all nice and easy to use as well, which makes File Expert something that will appeal to everyone.
- Features (4/5) – With the new Private Cloud and Cloud Video features, File Expert once again proves why it’s one of the best apps out there for browsing and interacting with your files.
- Overall (4/5) – With these new features and a constant attention to detail, File Expert is one of the apps that will feel tuned towards power-users, and it’s one of the best-looking file explorers out there. Offering users, a simple way to create their own private cloud storage, which makes File Expert one of the better file browsers on Android right now.
Pros
- Gives users a simple and easy way of accessing their files no matter where they are, including the new Private Cloud, making it even easier to access whatever you need, wherever you need it.
- Security is something the team takes seriously, and with the Private Cloud feature, users can keep their personal files safe and sound back at the office or in the home, while also getting the convenience of being able to access them wherever you need to.
- Good-looking app thanks to its straightforward use of Material Design, which also means that this is an easy-to-use app, too.
- New feature that lets users watch things from their cloud storage services means that it’s nice and easy to view your favorite videos while also saving space on your smartphone.
Cons
- Might not be too inviting for casual users looking for something super-simple to allow them to look at all of their files.
- Doesn’t offer many extra features besides the file browsing stuff, which will be fine for some, but not for everyone.
It’s been a while since we last took a look at File Expert, and while it continues to grow with these new features, it’s always going to be one of the better file browser apps out there. For the most part, this is an app that does everything pro users would want in an app and with the new Private Cloud feature, it takes this even further, to offer them a way to take control of their privacy and their files.