One of the Android applications that had not released a version of its application well adapted to Material Design es Dropbox. Well, it has been known that with the latest iteration of this development, which is the 3.0, the step has been taken and therefore this work arrives with a look that fits perfectly with Android Lollipop.
And, the truth is, we are facing one of the applications of cloud storage most used in Google's mobile-oriented operating system, along with Drive, so it is not exactly a minor movement. The point is that, at least as regards the aesthetic sectionThe improvements are evident, as the spaces are much larger and the navigation menus are more intuitive to access and use. In addition, key elements of the current design language have been added: Flat colors (without gradients), tinted status bar on compatible devices and a “hamburger” type side menu with fluid animations.
Greater usability
Besides, a very welcome addition is the appearance of a floating button at the bottom right, from which you can start performing actions such as creating folders or adding a photo. This way, you get a higher speed when executing actions (there are, of course, small drop-down tabs that hide all the actions that can be executed for cloud content stored in Dropbox). This button follows the Material Design guidelines and, when tapped, displays contextual shortcuts such as Upload here, New folder o New text file, having a overlay layer and clear labels to avoid mistakes.
The focus has been placed on the file list, where the reading is cleaner and the actions are more accessible. The gesture of hold down on an element activates a multiple edit mode with contextual action bar that indicates the number of selected items and offers direct shortcuts for move o delete, in addition to more options in the overflow menu. This pattern, present in Google apps, reduces steps and reinforces consistency with Android.
By the way, according to users who have already been able to use the new Dropbox 3.0 version image management has been optimized both in the speed with which actions are performed and in previewing them. In the file viewer Content is prioritized: one touch hides the app bar, status bar and navigation bar to take advantage of the entire screen, and the main icons (favorite, share, delete) maintain consistent positions with the list for easy viewing. muscle memoryDocument management remains the same as before, with cloud-based options for Office and PDF formats.
In addition, among the material changes include:
- Colored status bar when the system allows it (works on versions higher than KitKat).
- Slide-out side menu with authentic transitions and movement.
- Flat colors and clearer visual hierarchy for primary actions.
Update deployment
This has already started in some regions of Play Store, and it has been reported that Dropbox 3.0 will be released quickly and gradually. to all the stores where the development is present. In parallel, during deployment it is common for some users to choose to manually install the APK from recognized repositories if it does not yet appear in Google Play, although it is normal for the notification to end up arriving automatically.
By the way, apart from the aesthetic change, the communication with the servers of the Android client, which clearly improves its performance when managing data (there are also bug fixes). This release does not have any completely new features compared to the previous one; the focus is on the Material redesign and polishing stability. If your phone or tablet has modern versions of Android, you'll be able to enjoy the tinted status bar and smoother animations thanks to API changes.
For context, Dropbox had been progressively incorporating Material Design elements in previous betas (starting with the 2.6 and 2.7 branches), but it was with 3.0 that the visual package It really clicks: floating action button, side navigation, flat colors, and a system of lists and actions that makes the interface more clean and intuitiveThis brings the experience closer to the flagship Android apps and streamlines everyday tasks like uploading, moving, and sharing files.
Other apps for the Google operating system you can find out at this section Android Help.
The arrival of Dropbox 3.0 is an important step: the app fully adopts the Material Design guidelines, maintains performance with minor optimizations and offers a consistent interface with the Android ecosystem, which is key to helping millions of users work faster and with less friction.