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Google introduced its smart file manager back in November 2017 as "Files Go," though the Go moniker has since been dropped in favor of a more simple "Files by Google." In a little over 14 months, Files by Google has managed to get over 100 million downloads on the Play Store, which is pretty impressive for a file manager.
About a month ago, Google renamed its Files Go file manager to "Files by Google" and refreshed the UI. Today's update isn't as major, though it might be important to some: USB On-The-Go support.
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- A few days following the release of this update, Google has finally made the name-change official, revealing "Files by Google" as the new moniker for Files Go.
Google has been steadily updating its first-party apps to its "Google Material Theme" — which most of the internet continues to call Material Design 2, much to Google's apparent chagrin. The latest addition is Files Go, which has both a new look and a new name to go with it. The beta version of the app has both the stereotypical, mostly-white design, and it now just goes by the name of "Files."
Sideloading and sharing APKs are widespread behaviors in our world. With software getting larger and larger, many users can not afford to find a connection stable enough or cheap enough to download several apps and games they'd love to try out. But if their friends already have those, then it's a simple matter of getting the file over from one device to another. Google knows and has been working to make the process as safe as possible, to avoid installation of harmful apps.
Last December, Google announced a change to APKs uploaded to the Play Store that would insert a bit of security metadata in order to verify the provenance of these files. The "distributed by Google Play" metadata was made official this June, and although there was a lot of uproar about it being akin to DRM, the truth was a little far from that. Now, the Android Developers blog has announced the fruits of this whole ordeal: Play-sanctioned peer-to-peer app sharing is a reality.
Most of Google's "Go" apps are limited to devices running the Go edition of Android. However, Files Go is available on all devices. It helps you clear out old data to keep your phone lean, and it's getting an update today. There are a couple of notable changes, but most importantly, Google is paying some attention to offline file transfers with a new sharing tab and faster transfers.
Since it was released late last year, Google has steadily been adding new functionality to Files Go, its smart file manager. Most recently, we've seen additions such as file search and better notifications, a beta channel, and Google Drive file backup. The latest change involves a move to a navigation drawer, along with a couple of other adjustments.
April Fools' day is almost upon us, but each year at least a few companies are unable to restrain themselves, pushing out their pranks early as the remainder dribble out over the day itself. Google's various divisions do some decent work each year—last year's Google Gnome was itpretty good, and the Maps team's 2014 Pokemon prank was memorable. OnePlus even has a history of pulling off a decent prank. But, there are a ton of individual companies and gags to follow.
Files Go is one of the few "Go" apps that Google has not restricted to phones running the Go Edition of Android. You can install it on any phone, and there are a few new features available today. We saw at least one of these features in the recent beta release, but Files Go now officially has file search and more options when removing unneeded items.
Files Go made an unplanned debut back in November, and it's since been updated with a couple of new features, including Drive backup integration and better SD card support. Google still appears to be hard at work with Files Go, as is evident from the beta channel that has just been opened for it. It's very easy to join, and the first beta release is already live.
The launch of Android Go is almost upon us, and Google is continuing work on its various first-party apps for the platform. Files Go, a simple file manager, first arrived in November of last year as a beta app. It exited beta in December, and there have been a few updates since then.
Google tends to keep the Go apps locked down in the Play Store, so most devices can't download them directly. However, it opened up Files Go to everyone a while back. This app helps clear space on your device, and it's getting an update today with three new features.
Google is spinning up the previously announced "Go" version of Android, including a suite of apps in the Play Store. This optimized build of the OS was announced back at Google I/O, and a few test apps have popped up in the intervening months. Today, Google has renamed Search Lite to Google Go. That matches Files Go, which is out of beta now.
Launch of Android Go brings Oreo optimizations and features to low-end phones for developing markets
Google has made public the first release of Android Go—the optimized version of Android for low-end phones targeted toward developing markets, which was announced in May at I/O 2017. Rather than let OEMs stick to outdated Android versions when shipping budget phones, Android Go brings a full, up-to-date experience for devices which ship with 512MB or 1GB RAM.
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- The app is now available as an open beta. If you didn't get into the early access program before, you can now download it normally from the Play Store.
A ton of devices these days have built-in 'cleaners,' and it looks like Google has been developing its own. It's called Files Go, and judging from the screenshots and the description, it does a lot of the things that phones like the Galaxy S8 have within the system. The beta program is currently closed, but we've got the APK.