Dropbox Finally Begins Testing Mac App With Native Apple Silicon Support

Dropbox has finally begun testing a native version of its Mac app with Apple silicon support, following widespread criticism from customers and users who initially thought it had no plans to take advantage of the latest Macs powered by Apple's custom processors.

General Dropbox Feature
In October, official responses to comments on the Dropbox forums suggested Dropbox had no plans to add support for Apple silicon Macs to its Mac app, continuing to rely on Apple's Rosetta 2 technology to translate the Intel-based app on newer Mac machines. The forum thread received widespread criticism from irritated Mac users, eventually leading to the company's CEO stepping in to say that Dropbox would adopt native Apple silicon support in the first half of 2022.

Now, one week into the new year, Dropbox is seemingly fulfilling its promise. Dropbox has told MacRumors that it has begun testing native Apple silicon support with a small batch of its Mac user base and that it plans to offer all users who run the beta of its Mac app native Apple silicon support by the end of January.

Compared to apps specifically optimized and tested for Apple silicon, Intel-based apps on new Mac machines occasionally run slower, make little use of Apple silicon's performance gains and power efficiency, and may not function correctly. While Apple's Rosetta 2 technology works for most users, apps for Apple silicon typically run better, are more power-efficient, and more likely to provide a better user experience than Intel-based apps on newer Mac laptops and desktops.

Dropbox does not have the best reputation amongst Mac users for being friendly to system resources and is often criticized for being a memory hog and battery drain. On newer Macs, such as the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, Dropbox with native Apple silicon support should allay some of that criticism, as it should run smoother and be less demanding.

Dropbox's poor performance on Mac has pushed some users to move to third-party clients that support Dropbox syncing. With Dropbox planning to give all of its beta users access to its native Apple silicon app by the end of the month, an official rollout can be expected shortly after and well within the first half of 2022, as previously promised by the company's CEO.

Tag: Dropbox

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Finder Siri Feature

Apple's New Siri Will Be Powered By Google Gemini

Wednesday November 5, 2025 11:57 am PST by
The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google. For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
airtag purple

Apple's Website Lists AirTag 4-Pack at Shockingly Low Price [Updated]

Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag. This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked. Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
ikea smart home devices

IKEA Debuts 21 HomeKit-Compatible Smart Bulbs, Sensors, and Controls

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:08 pm PST by
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered. There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple's 2026 Smart Home Revamp: All the Rumors

Wednesday November 5, 2025 3:54 pm PST by
It's been over a decade since Apple's HomeKit smart home platform launched, and it is overdue for an update. HomeKit and the Home app can no longer keep up with AI-powered solutions from other companies like Google and Amazon, but that's set to change with a smart home revamp that Apple has planned for 2026. Home Hub Apple is working on a home hub or "command center" that will serve as a...

Top Rated Comments

mxrider88 Avatar
50 months ago
Too late. Moved all my data to iCloud.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bandaman Avatar
50 months ago
Wow ...

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
50 months ago
Does this company stuff exist?

It might be too late now. I have already moved all my stuff from DropBox to Google Drive. It's not going to be fun to move all the stuff back to the DropBox. :(
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PsykX Avatar
50 months ago

Does this company stuff exist?

[...] It's not going to be fun to move all the stuff back to the DropBox. :(
Dropbox has always been the most reliable cloud service since as far as I've known. Better than Apple and Microsoft, no wonder why Jobs wanted to put his hands on it. It's still true today.

Also, not going to be fun to move all the stuff back...? Did you ever copy/paste files from a folder to another? That's basically all you'd need to do...

But hey, in the end, just pick whatever floats your boat.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
elvislives Avatar
50 months ago
Left Dropbox years ago. Google Drive is way better.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
polyphenol Avatar
50 months ago
I have already voted. Maestral. Can't see me bothering to switch back to an official client unless it both offers something extra and uses no more resources.

(Admittedly, my needs are extremely modest. Largely because I moved almost everything from Dropbox when they ramped up costs so spectacularly.)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)