MacDroid For Mac

If you have an iOS device, transferring files between it and your Mac is a cakewalk. If you're an Android fan, however, things get a bit trickier, as macOS has never played well with these devices. Google's Android File Transfer app allows you to move files between Android and Mac, but it doesn't always work as expected, transfers are quite slow, and the app is updated infrequently.

MacDroid is an alternative to Google's solution that seeks to make the whole process a lot more user-friendly and reliable. It mounts your Android as a regular drive, allowing you to access and move files directly from Finder.

To set things up, start by connecting your phone or tablet to your Mac via USB. In case you haven't already, enable USB Debugging on your Android. If you can't find the option, here's a handy guide from Google.

Once USB Debugging has been enabled and you have authorized your Mac, the app will mount the device as a regular drive. From now on, whenever you connect the phone or tablet to your Mac, it will be mounted automatically.

ADB is used by default, but you can also switch to MTP if you prefer, which also allows you to connect other types of devices, not just Android-based ones.

One of the main reasons to prefer MacDroid over Android File Transfer is the connection speed. Moving content between devices is much faster, which is becoming more and more important with the continual expansion of mobile storage.

You can open and edit files directly from your Android's storage, whereas the Google utility requires you to move them to your Mac first. Since you're using Finder to access content, you can also take advantage of other perks, such as the search function and image previews.

Multiple devices can be connected at the same time, and you can manage everything from the menu bar. A couple of mouse clicks is all it takes to mount or unmount them, change their refresh interval, or open them in Finder.

MacDroid is a great app. It offers everything you would expect, and it is incredibly easy to use. If all you need to do is move content from your mobile device to your Mac, the free version has you covered.

However, if you also need to transfer files from Mac to Android, you'll need the Pro version. While the yearly price is fairly reasonable, are you willing to add yet another subscription to your (likely) ever-growing list? That's up to you, but if you are, you're getting a pretty impressive app for your money.