A long-time alternative to Apple's Files app has been Documents, developed by Readdle. Today, the company is launching "Documents X," intending to speed up everyday productivity tasks and offer users a refreshed design.
At the heart of Documents X is a feature Readdle is calling "Smart Actions." Smart Actions are contextual actions that are recommended to users depending on an action they just took. For example, if a user uploads a file to Dropbox or Google Drive, the app may suggest that the user shares the link. If a user downloads a music video, they may get presented with a Smart Action to extract the audio from the video.
The number of Smart Actions is rather extensive and is built directly into the app without launching external apps or services to perform them. Readdle says all the actions are "performed locally, which means that your files and activities don’t leave the device."
Documents X is also built on an updated design philosophy Readdle is calling "FOCUS." FOCUS aims to reduce complexity for the in-app experience while maintaining a high level of attention to detail and simplicity. The new design includes updated colors, icons, menus, controls, and more that have been "thoughtfully designed."
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The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
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iOS 26.3
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Since I can't seem to find it on my iPhone app store search right now - is it really free, or free with in-app purchases?
Hi there! Glad to inform you that our Documents app is free. The only paid features are PDF Editor and Unlimited VPN, however, you can browse and annotate PDFs and use 50 Mb in VPN per day without any subscription.
PDF Editor? I’m curious.. since Readdle has another PDF app called PDF Expert, what would be the reason to buy both subscription?
PDF Editor in Documents is basically an integrated PDF Expert. You are absolutely right, there is no need to subscribe to both apps, it is a matter of choice whether you need an app solely for editing/annotating PDF files or a super app for everything :)
My only gripe with this app is the video player doesn’t support H265 hardware decoding (everything else works great). No improvements with the new “Documents X” either. 4K movies stutter and the colors are all off. FE File Explorer ('https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fe-file-explorer-pro/id499470113') still holds the crown in this regard.
Thanks for the insights! I've created a request in our app wishlist so we can improve hardware coding in the future and also shared your feedback with our dev team.
Hi there! Glad to inform you that our Documents app is free. The only paid features are PDF Editor and Unlimited VPN, however, you can browse and annotate PDFs and use 50 Mb in VPN per day without any subscription.
Just downloaded it. It already performs better on reaching deep down in a many layer deep folder tree than Files does. Will make this part of my workflow.
