Dropbox iOS app uses iPhone camera to make setting up desktop app easier

Dropbox updated its iPhone and iPad app today bringing a list of new features to the mobile cloud app. Here are the changes Dropbox points out in the update:

• Reorder your Favorites list with a simple touch and hold
• Set up Dropbox on your computer using your camera
• Dropbox now remembers recent locations when importing files
• Accessibility improvements
• Support for additional languages: Danish, Dutch, Swedish, and Thai
• Lots of bug fixes and usability improvements

That second feature seemed somewhat vague from the description but interesting so we decided to test it out.

Using the latest version of Dropbox, users can now set up the Dropbox desktop app on a new computer by scanning a QR code in the web browser with the iPhone camera. Below you can see part of the process…

The idea is you can scan the QR code on Dropbox.com/connect using the Dropbox iPhone app to prompt your computer to download and login to your account automating the process.

In my case, however, I wasn’t immediately able to pass step two (using a MacBook Air and iPhone 5s), so it might still be easier to set up Dropbox the manual way.

At any rate, it’s a cool feature if it works for most people that could make setting up Dropbox much easier and it’s available today in the latest version of Dropbox in the App Store.

Filed under: Apps Tagged: Dropbox