Boxie for iPhone review: A better Dropbox experience in pretty much every way

By Allyson Kazmucha
last updated

Boxie is a Dropbox client for iPhone that provides almost all the functionality that the Dropbox website itself provides. Aside from having a refreshing and beautiful interface, it comes complete with notifications for file system events, revision change options, and more.

The native Dropbox for iPhone app was recently updated with support for iOS 7 but for some of us, it's still lacking a lot of the functionality and tools we'd like. Boxie aims to close that gap by bringing a refreshing interface and design paired with lots of useful features.

Boxie has built-in support for background app refreshing in iOS 7 which means you can optionally be notified of changes made to your Dropbox or new files added. You can also view change revisions and revert to a previous file type natively from the app.

Compared to the native Dropbox app for iOS, Boxie's menu system is more robust and I've found that getting to options I want can be done in fewer taps. Swipe on an item to reveal an action menu that lets you manipulate, share, and manage the selected files. You can perform these actions on both individual files and entire folders. I particularly like that I can copy all the images easily inside a folder in two taps. That's incredibly convenient.

The good

  • Great interface and design, those that prefer darker themed apps will prefer it over the native Dropbox app
  • Action menus are incredibly useful and in many cases, more robust and intuitive than the native Dropbox app's are
  • Notifications for file system events makes it easy to know when people add files or changes are made to shared folders

The bad

  • Currently no iPad client, but developers are working on it

The bottom line

Up until now, I've been pretty happy with the native Dropbox for iOS client. After using Boxie on my iPhone for a good while, there's no way I could go back. I find it much more intuitive and it just fits my style better. I can't wait to see the iPad version.

If you happen to try out Boxie, let us know what you think of it!

Allyson Kazmucha
Allyson Kazmucha

iMore senior editor from 2011 to 2015.

25 Comments
  • Does this come with support for automatic camera uploads? If so I'm sold! Sent from the iMore App
  • Unfortunately I don't believe that can be a feature anyone but Dropbox could implement. I could be wrong but no boxie does not have it from what I can see. Sent from the iMore App
  • Thanks for the info. Looks like a great app still. May have to give SkyDrive another shot for auto camera uploads and go with Boxie for Dropbox. Sent from the iMore App
  • Then this information should be in "the bad" list. If you use Dropbox for backup of iPhone pictures (like iMore suggested), Boxie will be pretty useless.
  • Based on what can be seen in the App Store, this looks like a very high quality app. However, I'm just not sure how much better this is than the stock Dropbox app which was just redesigned for iOS 7 this week. Sent from the iMore App
  • It's the feature set and more fluid UI that sold me. Sent from the iMore App
  • Looks like a great app. I gotta get it.
  • Sounds interesting. I'll probably hold out for the iPad version as most of my Dropbox usage is for my docs I edit on my iPad. Sent from the iMore App
  • I love Boxie! I can email files as attachments, not links and I can view documents and ppts in full screen. Definitely worth the money to me. Y'all try it out! Sent from the iMore App
  • I never gave much thought to Boxie, but this definitely has me curious. I'm going to have to check out Boxie and the app. Sent from the iMore App
  • This app has certainly piqued my interest. Did a little reading of user reviews. I like that it can open and browse ZIP files and the ease of moving files to different locations (standard tap-and-hold). I think I'll wait for the iPad update and hopefully auto camera uploads before I get it. Sent from the iMore App
  • I'm confused. Is this the same app? Or different developers? It will sync with my dropbox account? Sent from the iMore App
  • I'm confused. Is this the same app? Or different developers? It will sync with my dropbox account? Sent from the iMore App
  • This app is built by indie developers. Sent from the iMore App
  • Boxie is one of those apps that you didn't know you needed until you started using it. If I could authorize my Dropbox folder for apps with boxie. I would delete the official Dropbox app. Honestly boxie reminds you of a jailbreak tweet that takes a stock app and empowers it. Sent from the iMore App
  • Does Boxie use my current Dropbox account or do I have to create a Boxie account?
    It looks fantastic! Sent from the iMore App
  • It uses your current account; look at it as an "extension" to your current Dropbox app. By swiping you can reveal contextual item actions; pressing and holding allows you for a quick navigation menu and dragging items into folders; tapping to undo critical actions; you can view a list of selected file and restoring it, and more. A pretty nifty app :)
  • Awesome! Thank you. Sent from the iMore App
  • Definitely a great alternative. Haven't spent enough time using it to have a string opinion, but from the review It sounds like something I will like. The two taps to move all photos within a folder alone would be nice. I hate that there is no "Select all" option in so many apps. Picking one at a time is so tedious Sent from the iMore App
  • Not bring a power used of Dropbox, the native app is fine for me. Are there any privacy issues with using a third party app for Dropbox? Sent from the iMore App
  • I'm wondering the same thing.
  • great app, I love that I can email or text a file as attachment rather than a link but a little laggy when I tap the folders.
    wish they bring Ipad support as a universal apps.
  • Can I share a folder and/or create a shared folder from within the app? This is probably the most annoying feature absent from the native Dropbox app.
  • Dropbox is great for me.. For the average user Dropbox does everything that you want cloud storage to do, all the while looking like a native iOS 7 file system app. Love it and I won't be switching. Sent from the iMore App
  • I'm a big Dropbox fan, but I can't see any further features I need from their native app. The look is nice, though. Sent from the iMore App