Dropbox is often the choice solution for file storage in the cloud, but the problem is that as smartphones proliferate the market, widespread internet coverage is slow to follow suit, so accessing the cloud is not always an easy feat when physically moving from place to place. In this case, cloud-based file storage basically becomes useless on a smartphone.
Dropbox previously enabled a solution for this by allowing offline access for individual files, but it's now extending that functionality to folders altogether.
Access Dropbox Folder Offline For Mobile
"This feature has been a top request from users, so we're excited to bring it to our Dropbox Pro, Business, and Enterprise customers," Aakash Kambuj, Engineer Manager at Dropbox, wrote in a blog post.
Mobile offline folders will enable users to download an entire folder to a smartphone or tablet, eliminating the cumbersome need to mark individual files for download. Simply open Dropbox when connected to the internet, mark the folder, and Dropbox will take care of the rest.
The feature is built for Dropbox users who might wander around areas without network coverage or public Wi-fi access, especially for those whose jobs require plenty of travelling or roaming around such as travel photographers, bloggers, and the ilk.
Availability
The new offline feature will arrive with the newest version of Dropbox for Android, slated for release in the next few days. However, the feature will be only be exclusive for Dropbox Pro and Business. iPhone users don't need to fret, as Dropbox will eventually roll the feature out early 2017. Sorry, free users of Dropbox.
A future where every area is basically covered by either a fast network or a public Wi-Fi connection presently remains a pipe dream, so Dropbox offline recourse should be fine for the time being.
Offline solutions for cloud-based file storage systems is not new, and Dropbox is fairly late in the offline game, considering Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive users are already familiar with such a feature.
Are you signed up on Dropbox's Pro models? Will this new offline feature be useful for you? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
Other Dropbox News
Dropbox announced Project Infinite in April this year, in an attempt to revolutionize the way users access and sync files across multiple platforms. Whether the user's files are stored in a local drive, the cloud, or network drives, Project Infinite will easily let users scour through the file system as if everything is stored locally. It would be similar to storing the files on one's hard disk drive, but the space needed would be significantly decreased.
Dropbox has yet to specify when it intends to implement Project Infinite.
