Samsung apps are bundled to replace the official Google apps in the One UI. You will often find yourself thinking between Samsung apps and the standard Google apps. One such offering is Samsung My Files, a file explorer for managing files preinstalled on Galaxy phones. It competes with the Google Files app from the Play Store. If you are confused between these two, read our comparison and choose the best app for your phone.
The file manager plays an important role in the Android ecosystem. The operating system allows you to view, manage, and edit any type of file on your phone. Despite the many third-party file managers in the Play Store, most users stick with the offerings from Samsung and Google.
Availability
The Samsung My Files app is available from the Galaxy Store. The company regularly updates and improves the app through frequent updates from the store.
Google Files is available on the Play Store.
user interface
The user interface is essential in a file manager app. You need it to find files and media on your Galaxy phone. Both Google Files and Samsung My Files keep the user interface simple and easy to navigate.
Let’s start with Samsung My Files. Like other One UI apps, Samsung My Files has a huge app header at the top with easy accessibility at the bottom. You’ll find that Google’s file manager even has it.
Scroll down to find a categorized view of the media files and storage area. This is how you can quickly find a specific file or document. As for customization, Samsung allows you to enable / disable the location through the settings menu.
Google Files comes with the Material Theme 2.0 design language. Most of the options like Clean, Browser, and Share are at the bottom. We’re not a fan of the hamburger and search menu above, however. Google could have easily included them below.
File organization
Samsung wins this round confidently. Allow me to elaborate on that. The company supports internal storage, SD card (if your phone supports it) and onlineCloud-Storage like OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox.
You can connect an FTP server, SFTP server and a network drive via the Network Storage menu. In short, Samsung’s My Files is your all-in-one solution for managing files no matter where they are stored.
For your most frequently used media files and documents, you can simply select them as favorites and easily access them via a single favorites menu.
Google’s Files app pales in comparison. There is no way to extract files from the Cloud-View third-party storage. It also doesn’t support micro SD card. The Favorites section is used to access common files.
Additional functions
Both the Google Files and Samsung My Files apps stand out for the basic file management features. You can move, copy, and share files. Let’s talk about the additional add-ons for both apps.
Google first introduced the Files app to tackle the junk files and pictures on your phone. The service simply shines at finding and offering suggestions for removing duplicate and large irrelevant files. Open the Files app and go to the Clean Up section. The service detects temporary app files, duplicates and large files that need to be removed.
Tap on the Clean Up option, remove cache data from the phone and free up the precious space. Another nice shot is Share. We use it all the time on the GT team.
It’s Google’s answer to the growing popularity of file sharing apps like Xender, AirDrop, and ShareIt. Just go to the Share menu and choose Send or Receive. The service quickly detects nearby devices, and you can easily move or receive large files on the go.
Google added the safe folder as. Select sensitive files and media and move them to the secure folder.
Samsung has a built-in Analyze storage option that provides a clear view of the types of files that are consuming the storage space on the phone. However, there is no way to delete unnecessary files with a single click.
To hide files, you need to rely on a separate Secure Folder app to store private media files. Although it’s a different app, the secure folder is way more advanced than the secure folder in the Google Files app.
Manage files like a pro
Proper file management is one of the reasons to choose an Android over a competing iPhone. Google did a commendable job with the Clean, Share and Safe Folder add-on. However, Samsung’s implementation is progressing with the support of Cloud-Third party storage, the FTP / SFTP add-on, and the analytic storage ahead.
Next Up:
Samsung Calendar is another clone app from the company. Read the comparison post with Google Calendar to choose the perfect option for you.
