Comparison

File Explorer & Player vs Remote Buddy Mobile 2

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

File Explorer & Player

Access and stream files from your Mac wirelessly on your iPhone or iPad. View photos, documents, and play videos directly from your computer. Transfer files and even use your iOS device as a portable drive.

Highlights
  • Stream video from Mac
  • View photos and documents
  • Transfer files to iOS
  • Use iOS as a drive
  • Wireless Mac access
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone or iPad into the wireless flash drive for your Mac. Have full access to your Mac files – use your iOS device to stream videos, view photos and documents, from anywhere within your home. AT A GLANCE - Stream any video directly from your Mac; - View photos or documents stored on your Mac; - Transfer files between your Mac and your iOS device; - Store anything on your iOS device and take it with you on the go; - Mount your iOS device as drive on your Mac or Windows machine using WebDAV; - Use the Personal Hotspot of your iOS device to control your Mac when you don’t have access to other networks. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS - Mac with macOS 10.10 or above and Helper app installed; - iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 11 or above; - Shared wireless network connection between your computer and iOS device. TERMS OF USE https://cherpake.com/tos Ratings are like gold for indie developers like me, please give the app a quick rating on the App Store.

About

Remote Buddy Mobile 2

Control your Mac from your iPhone or iPad. Use it as a trackpad, keyboard, or for app-specific controls and media playback. Mirror your Mac's screen and manage power functions remotely.

Highlights
  • Remote control for 100+ Mac apps
  • Multi-touch trackpad with Mousespot
  • Web video playback control
  • Screen mirroring up to 60fps
  • Keyboard and numpad input
  • Power actions and Wake-On-LAN
  • Secure TLS connection
Features
Read full description

Control your Mac, with your iPhone or iPad acting as trackpad, keyboard, mirrored display and powerful remote control for 100+ Mac apps. Watch web videos and streaming services in Safari or Google Chrome and control playback, speed and volume from the comfort of your couch. Use the built-in, high performance screen sharing to mirror your screen on your device's display and control your Mac from another room. Deliver your presentations with confidence using the multitouch trackpad and its elegant Mousespot highlight. Launch, switch and quit apps - or pick from Remote Buddy's huge library of 1.200+ actions for 100+ popular Mac apps, right from your device. Remote Buddy Mobile is the mobile companion app for Remote Buddy, the remote control app for your Mac. KEY FEATURES • Remote Control Control 100+ popular Mac apps with 1.200+ tailor-made actions. • Multi-touch Trackpad with Mousespot Click, drag, scroll, switch spaces or invoke Mission Control. Want to highlight parts of your presentations? Or looking for the mouse pointer? Remote Buddy's Mousespot spotlight effect is just a tap away! • Shortcut Bar The configurable shortcut bar provides quick access to essential actions for the controlled app in the Remote and Trackpad modes. • Smart Remote Fusing the best parts of remote, trackpad and shortcut bar into a single, app-specific view, Smart Remote puts everything needed to control an app within reach. • Web Video Control Control playback, speed and volume of almost all web videos - without having to fiddle with controls in the browser. Works with YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, tv.apple.com, Vimeo and many more in Safari and Google Chrome. • Screen Sharing Instantly see your Mac's screen, with up to 60 frames per second. Supports zooming, dragging, clicking, scrolling, multiple displays and more. • Actions and App Control Pick from Remote Buddy's huge library of 1.200+ app-specific actions; launch, switch and quit apps right from your device. Favorite frequently used apps and actions for quick access. • Keyboard and Numpad Type text and numbers into browsers, search fields, editors, spreadsheets and more. Supports modifiers, cursor keys, the iOS keyboard's dictation feature, password manager integration and more. • Power Actions and Wake-On-LAN Save power by putting your Mac to sleep - and wake it up later through Wake-On-LAN. Or initiate a reboot or shut down right from the app. • Audio Settings Change your system's default audio output to a different device or AirPlay target. Control its volume and mute status where supported. • Connection secured with TLS Support for the new Secure Connection feature of Remote Buddy 2.0, keeping your connection private through strong, certificate-based TLS 1.2 encryption. SUPPORTED APPS Some of the Mac apps that Remote Buddy for Mac and – thereby – Remote Buddy Mobile can control out of the box: Acrobat Pro, Adobe Bridge, Adobe Reader, AirFoil, Aperture, Audio Hijack 3, Audirvana, Books, Broadcasts, Calendar, Deckset, DVD Player, Elmedia Video Player, EyeTV, FlexTime, Firefox, GarageBand, Google Chrome, Impress (OpenOffice.org & LibreOffice), iPhoto, iTunes, Keynote, Kodi, Lightroom 1/2/3/4/5/Classic/CC, Mac Blu-Ray Player, Movist, Music, OpenPHT, Photo Booth, Photos, Plex for Mac, Plex Media Player, Podcasts, PowerPoint, Preview, QuickTime Player, Roon, Safari, Skim, Spotify, TV.app, VoodooPad, VLC, XBMC, Yojimbo A complete list of supported apps is available at the Remote Buddy website. If you want us to add support for an app that's not listed there, please let us know through the contact form of our website. HOST REQUIREMENTS Requires a Mac running Remote Buddy 2.0 or later. Remote Buddy 2.0 requires macOS 10.12 or later. Licenses for Remote Buddy for the Mac are sold separately and not part of this app.

Screenshots

File Explorer & Player4 screens
Remote Buddy Mobile 24 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Remote Buddy Mobile 2 at none against File Explorer & Player's 4. Remote Buddy Mobile 2 also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 18.0). File Explorer & Player's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 12 months) and ratings volume (124 vs 34). On price, rating, review sentiment and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. File Explorer & Player sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Remote Buddy Mobile 2 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for File Explorer & Player against 4.6 for Remote Buddy Mobile 2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 124 and 34 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of File Explorer & Player's written reviews are positive against 75% of Remote Buddy Mobile 2's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

File Explorer & Player ships an update every 3 weeks, Remote Buddy Mobile 2 every 12 months. Both last shipped on September 20, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
File Explorer & Player versus Remote Buddy Mobile 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFile Explorer & PlayerRemote Buddy Mobile 2
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (124 ratings)4.6 (34 ratings)
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings124 — better34
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 12 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.012.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRemote Sunrise LTDIOSPIRIT GmbH

Customer experience

File Explorer & Player

All ratings124 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative19.6%

Remote Buddy Mobile 2

All ratings34 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

File Explorer & Player

Subscriptions2
  • Upgrade to Pro Version - 1M$1.991 Month
  • Upgrade to Pro Version7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time2
  • Remove Ads$9.99
  • Upgrade to PRO$19.99
None

Remote Buddy Mobile 2

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is File Explorer & Player free?
File Explorer & Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Remote Buddy Mobile 2 free?
Remote Buddy Mobile 2 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, File Explorer & Player or Remote Buddy Mobile 2?
File Explorer & Player and Remote Buddy Mobile 2 are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 124 and 34 ratings respectively.
Do File Explorer & Player or Remote Buddy Mobile 2 have ads?
File Explorer & Player shows ads; Remote Buddy Mobile 2 does not.
Which is updated more often, File Explorer & Player or Remote Buddy Mobile 2?
File Explorer & Player ships an update every 3 weeks, and Remote Buddy Mobile 2 every 12 months. Most recently, File Explorer & Player was updated on September 20, 2026 and Remote Buddy Mobile 2 on September 20, 2026.

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