Dropbox Windows 10 app optimized for tablets rolls out this week, adds Windows Hello support and more, with Windows 10 Mobile support coming soon
Steve Guggenheimer / Windows Blog :
Context & Ripple Effects
Dropbox is catching up on Microsoft's platform rather than leading it: after shipping an official Windows Phone app with Start-screen folder pins in early 2015, it now follows Box, which released its own Windows 10 Universal app last November. The timing tracks Microsoft's push to seed the platform with touch-first software — the same play behind Office Mobile built for Windows 10 tablets.
First-order effects
- Tablet users on Windows 10 get a native Dropbox client with Windows Hello sign-in this week, while Windows 10 Mobile users are told to wait for a later release.
Second-order effects
- Box's head start on the Universal Windows Platform puts pressure on Dropbox to reach feature parity quickly, since both compete for the same enterprise file-sharing seats on Microsoft's devices.
Third-order effects
- If Dropbox's staggered rollout — tablets first, phones later — becomes the norm, app developers will keep prioritizing larger Windows 10 screens over the mobile install base, reinforcing the platform's tablet-first gravity.
The trend: Cloud storage vendors are converging on Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform one device class at a time, with tablets pulling ahead of phones in developer priority.