Solid Explorer. Why? Because I bought it ages ago and it still works fine. Even a decade later, it still gets regular updates, which shows that the dev cares about the app.
More importantly, I like that it jumps straight into my filesystem without any nonsensical abstract views, and I like that it doesn't come with any bloat (no junk cleaner or RAM booster crap), unlike other file managers. With other file managers these days, you open them and instead of seeing your files you get a bunch of mini apps or collections, which is NOT what I want. I just want a simple file manager, not an ecosystem. Thankfully, Solid isn't like that.
So even after all these years and all these updates, the app remains true to its original purpose and hasn't sold out or gone down the enshittification path, which is a refreshing change compared to what we've been seeing with other apps.
I got it on some crazy sale long ago. They eventually updated, and still let me have the upgraded version as long as I had the pro app installed as well. I eventually decided to just buy it full price for the convenience of not needing to install the pro app every time I got a new phone.
It's one of my most used apps, so definitely worth it.
Same. I have spare Google Rewards credits so I bought the in-app purchase to support the developer. Been using this app for probably over 10 years now.
One of my most frequently used features is the FTP file transfer to/from a Windows device or even another Android device.
Yeah I don't know if something better is out there because solid explorer is, well, just solid. Internal storage, local file server, Google drive, one drive, sftp. Absolutely fantastic tool, bought it years ago and it goes on every phone and tablet I've had since. I'm really not sure what it would take to move on from it, it fulfills every need I've had for a file explorer.
I take this opportunity to ask, does anyone know how to make Solid Explorer return to home/ every time it is opened instead of remaining in the last directory it opened?