Here’s Why iOS Doesn’t Have A File System And Probably Never Will
One of the most requested feature in iOS is a file management system. I would say this is right up there with the request for “better sharing between apps.”
However, the lack of a file management system in iOS is attributed to the fact that Steve Jobs doesn’t think you need one:
Here is Steve Jobs expressing his views on file system management at AllThingsD D5 conference in 2007(mark 37:50 in the video):
[su_quote]
in every user interface study we’ve ever done […], [we found] it’s pretty easy to learn how to use these things ‘til you hit the file system and then the learning curve goes vertical. So you ask yourself, why is the file system the face of the OS? Wouldn’t it be better if there was a better way to find stuff?
Now, e-mail, there’s always been a better way to find stuff. You don’t keep your e-mail on your file system, right? The app manages it. And that was the breakthrough, as an example, in iTunes. You don’t keep your music in the file system, that would be crazy. You keep it in this app that knows about music and knows how to find things in lots of different ways. Same with photos: we’ve got an app that knows all about photos. And these apps manage their own file storage. […]
And eventually, the file system management is just gonna be an app for pros and consumers aren’t gonna need to use it.
[/su_quote]
So there you have it. That’s why iOS does not have a file management system like Android and probably never will.
