dropbox logo 3At Dropbox Open London today, the company announced "Project Infinite," a new feature of the popular document transferring app that will save space on a user's local hard drive thanks to the implementation of a new cloud storage feature.

With Infinite, both cloud files and locally saved files will cohabitate in the traditional location within Finder on Macs, letting users decide which take up storage space and which stay in the cloud.

Documents saved in the cloud will be marked with a tiny icon referencing their storage location, but there won't be any kind of laborious download process if a user needs to quickly gain access to anything not directly saved on their computer. Cloud files will sync on demand when a user clicks on them, displaying them in the same way as locally stored files. If a file will be needed in a location lacking an Internet connection, users can choose to "Save local copy" and download the cloud file for later.

In Project Infinite's introduction video, the company gives the example of a shared company Dropbox folder with upwards of 10 terabytes of data synced inside. On the desktop of one user, however, the folder is taking up just 28 megabytes of data thanks to the inclusion of cloud storage.


The company also mentioned that Project Infinite supports all platforms that Dropbox is available on, and even includes backwards-compatibility "on any computer running Windows 7 or higher, or Mac OS X 10.9 and up." So a file saved by a team member on Windows 8, for instance, can be viewed as a placeholder cloud file on another user's iMac, and then downloaded to their hard drive.

Project Infinite will enable users to seamlessly and securely access all their Dropbox files from the desktop, regardless of how much space they have available on their hard drives. Everything in the company’s Dropbox that you’re given access to, whether it’s stored locally or in the cloud, will show up in Dropbox on your desktop. If it’s synced locally, you’ll see the familiar green checkmark, while everything else will have a new cloud icon.

Dropbox's aim for Project Infinite appears to be enterprise focused, but the company's blog post mentioned that it has "more product announcements to come throughout the year," following the launch of its new storage-saving cloud feature. Project Infinite is currently being tested among a select number of Dropbox sponsors, but no word has yet been given regarding a specific wide launch.

Tag: Dropbox

Top Rated Comments

tentales Avatar
117 months ago
That's welcome news, but 2 things are stopping me from coming back to dropbox.
1) No client-side encryption
2) No multi-tier pricing. It's 2GB Free or 1TB for $100/year.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aleksander Avatar
117 months ago
Eddy tells me macOS will have that revolutionary iCloud feature in 2020 with 5GB for free!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maxsix Avatar
117 months ago
Dropbox has been a cornerstone of convenient and reliable file management for years. It'll be interesting to see where this latest project goes.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Paradoxally Avatar
117 months ago
This is convenient, but I have switched all my important files in an ownCloud server. Works just as well, but I control every aspect of the server.

I just don't trust Dropbox for security or privacy.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tremblewithfear6 Avatar
117 months ago
I've tried many other cloud platforms for my data, but DropBox has been immaculate for my needs. This upcoming feature will likely solidify the company further. While I have had ethical qualms with some of DropBox as a company (hiring Condoleezza Rice, buying and killing Mailbox and Carousel, etc), the main product -- their cloud syncing product, has always been something I have needed and wanted.

I sync documents for college, including multiple papers a week. I also have the ability of syncing work/employment data, including my resume and portfolio for applications. The best part, is it works on all platforms. At my current job, I use DropBox for syncing images and sales for social media (FB, Twitter, Instagram, and our website).

Without DropBox, I would likely be back to the olden days of having a flash drive with me everywhere I go, and worrying that if I break it by accident, I would be screwed. Man... Those days sucked, haha.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
maflynn Avatar
117 months ago
Interesting that they introduce this feature, when MS removed this very feature in windows 10. Dropbox is making a strong case to use them over OneDrive. Its not only faster but it definitely has more features at this point.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
iOS 19 Mock WWDC25 Feature

iOS 19 Expected to Run on These iPhones

Monday March 31, 2025 5:28 pm PDT by
iOS 19 will not be available on the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or the iPhone XS Max, according a private account on social media site X that has accurately provided information on device compatibility in the past. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max all have an A12 Bionic chip, so it looks like iOS 19 will discontinue support for that chip. All other iPhones that run iOS 18 are expected...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...