Microsoft Launches Files Tool For Windows Phone 8.1

This afternoon, Microsoft released Files, a file management tool for Windows Phone 8.1 that it had previously promised.

The app is simple, but then again so is local file management. Users of Files will be able to access content that is stored locally, as well as on SD cards. Folder creation is supported, along with normal tasks like moving and deleting content.

In the Reddit AMA session during which Microsoft Windows Phone guru Joe Belfiore announced the coming Files tool, he claimed that it would land by the end of May. So, this thing is right on time:

Windows Phone 8.1 users can snag the thing here. Most Windows Phone users are still on Windows Phone 8, as Windows Phone 8.1 was first rolled out to developers. The fresh mobile operating system is in the process of a paced roll-out to the mass market.

Files hasn’t yet cropped up on App Annie’s Windows Phone ranking charts — and it might not for some time, given that it is tied to Windows Phone 8.1 — so it’s hard to tell how well it is performing in its first moments of life.

Why the hell would Microsoft want to bring a file manager at all to Windows Phone? Because Windows Phone is merely another platform where OneDrive and Office sit, and Microsoft wants those to fire on every possible cylinder.

Oh, and users wanted it.