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

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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.jpg

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."

Article Link: Apple Confirms macOS 12.3 Deprecates Kernel Extensions Used by Dropbox and OneDrive
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/01/27/macos-12-3-deprecates-dropbox-onedrive-kexts/
Steve Jobs was right... they really were just a feature.. no matter what half-baked office mini clones they tried to install on us.
 
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Very happy with iCloud Drive, works great. But I also use Onedrive and I have been waiting far too long for an M1 silicon version (which I know is in beta). At least this should light a fire under Microsoft to get it finished and released ASAP. Having a non-optimized x86 version running whenever my Mac is running cannot be helping battery life.
Onedrive is currently consuming the 2nd most amount of RAM of anything currently running on a Mac, I feel like Microsoft can do better.
 
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Think|Different said:
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.
Click to expand...


does it tho. i still have plenty of folders that won't download. i click "download now" and nothing happens. they show up on different computers. i tried turning off iCloud, logging out, etc.
 
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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.
 
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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.
 
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OneDrive literally just had an update a day or two ago that now appears to integrate with the File Providers API built into macOS. OneDrive now shows up under Locations in the Finder sidebar instead of as a folder under Favorites. I know Microsoft has been talking about updating OneDrive to support File Providers for a while (as opposed to the kernel extension that's being deprecated) so perhaps they're already starting to roll it out.

Still not M1 native though, but I haven't noticed any performance issues on my MBP.
 
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Think|Different said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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macsplusmacs said:
Steve Jobs was right... they really were just a feature.. no matter what half-baked office mini clones they tried to install on us.
Click to expand...
Yep. Between iCloud Drive, free space with Google Drive and the space I get with Office 365, I forgot Dropbox existed. It truly is just a feature. Probably why their stock has flatlined.
 
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Bustycat said:
Many OneDrive users are outraged by the better experiences.
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As a OneDrive user that just installed version 22 (including the Files On-Demand "experience"), I honestly fail to see what the big deal is. It's just one more setting. If you want to have all your files always available offline (as it is my case) you just tell the app to do so. You know, go to the OneDrive folder root, right-click, "Always keep on this device" for the whole folder...
 
Tagbert said:
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.
Click to expand...

Also hear about bloat here on MR, but didn't see any valid example so far. I use it on a daily basis, from multiple Mac/Win machines, working directly from DB on various 500 MB+ Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign files, Logic Pro projects, collaborating and sharing stuff with co-workers and friends, and many more. Never had a single issue with speed, syncing or outages.

Regularly consuming 600-700 MB of RAM and never exceeds it.
 
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nickbatz said:
"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. :)
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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.
 
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