Apple Confirms macOS 12.3 Deprecates Kernel Extensions Used by Dropbox and OneDrive

Thursday January 27, 2022 11:29 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Apple today seeded the first beta of macOS 12.3 to developers for testing. In the release notes for the update, Apple confirms that it has deprecated kernel extensions used by Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive and notes that both cloud storage services have replacements for the functionality currently in beta.

General Dropbox Feature
Earlier this week, Dropbox announced that users who update to macOS 12.3 may temporarily encounter issues with opening online-only files in some third-party apps on their Mac. Dropbox did not provide a reason for this issue, but it is now clear that it relates to the kernel extensions that enabled this functionality being deprecated by Apple.

In a support document and an email to customers, Dropbox said it is actively working on full support for online-only files on macOS 12.3 and will begin rolling out an updated version of its Mac app to beta testers in March. In the meantime, Dropbox users who update to macOS 12.3 will still be able to open online-only files in Finder.

Microsoft is also working on a new online-only files experience for OneDrive that is "more integrated with macOS" and "will have long-term support from Apple."

Tags: Dropbox, OneDrive

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

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Top Rated Comments

usagora

62 months ago

"Deprecates" just means they remove support and/or express disapproval.

I think "breaks" is the right word here, even though it doesn't sound as impressive. :)

No, deprecate is the correct word. Obviously both of the developers knew about it in advance and have made the necessary adjustments. "Break" would be if they didn't warn anyone, and you install the Beta and all of a sudden Dropbox or OneDrive doesn't work, and the developers have to scramble to fix it.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

svenmany

62 months ago

Dropbox works great for me. My wife and I share a single Dropbox account (single login). Since we have separate Apple IDs, it would be less convenient simulating that with iCloud. Also, I access Dropbox a lot from Windows. I've never had any issues with Dropbox on all platforms over the many years I've used it. I've had a number of issues with iCloud file sync (e.g. files added elsewhere not showing up on my Mac).

I have no desire to use offline files, so I hope my Dropbox experiences is not impacted by this change. I see that OneDrive is going to default to off-line files with local files requiring extra effort; I hope Dropbox doesn't do that.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Think|Different

62 months ago

I moved on to other services (iCloud Drive works great!) and never looked back. Crazy how relevant DB was – and how hard they fell by bloating their offerings.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Digital Skunk

62 months ago

Dropbox is still far superior for filesharing outside of the Apple ecosystem and with large teams. I don't know how the basic versions compare, but for my team of 5 Dropbox is as close to perfect as we can get.

For personal use, and for my family, it's iCloud all the way. At that point we're in the Apple system, so there's no reason to store anything outside of it.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

0414562

62 months ago

I hear about bloat but I only use the basic file syncing / sharing features. not the enterprise features they were pushing. Maybe the app is a little larger and slower but it hasn't been the worst offender for me. I still have a couple of apps that use DB-specific APIs for dif-syncing changes and they are not planning to switch to other providers. DB's syncing is still the fastest and most reliable. I think I'll continue to use it for some files, even now.

This. Still the best sync service of the majors. Not even close. OneDrive is a turd. iCloud is a turd. Google Drive isnt terrible but its still not Dropbox.

And they just removed some of the bloat with the Dropbox window thing that was in the client. Theyre back to concentrating on the stuff that matters.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

0414562

62 months ago

I moved on to other services (iCloud Drive works great!) and never looked back. Crazy how relevant DB was – and how hard they fell by bloating their offerings.

I keep hearing this "how hard they fell". You do realize Dropbox is doing just fine right? Still works much better than iCloud Drive. I'm not having syncing problems or data loss in Dropbox. Cant say the same for iCloud at the moment. I mean yeah maybe you and your buddies have switched. Doesn't mean they fell anywhere.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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Apple Confirms macOS 12.3 Deprecates Kernel Extensions Used by Dropbox and OneDrive

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