WinZip 1.0

The need for compressed files is far less pressing than it used to be. Increased hard drive sizes mean that there is now less need to worry about running out of space, but the humble zip file does still have a place in modern computing. When transferring files online, things can be greatly sped up by reducing the size of the files in question in advance, and the ability to encrypt compressed archives provides a good security option.

For many people, zip files are generally used for email attachments, and this is true whatever platform you happen to be using. If you receive an email with a compressed attachment when you are using your iPhone or iPad, there are no built in tool that will enable you to view these files. This is where WinZip can help, making it possible to extract the content of zip files and view the files they include.

Anyone who has used the desktop version of WinZip’s famous tool may be disappointed to find that the iOS version of the app only features one way handling of file compression. This means that it is only possible to open compressed files - there is no way to create from within iOS using the WinZip app. However, the app can be used to open zip files that are attached to emails and there is support for previewing a wide variety of file formats.

WinZip includes support for compressed files and the app can be used to open zip files that are attached to the emails you reads in the local mail app, as well as those you read with web based email services. There’s little reason to choose WinZip over any of the countless other free compression tools available for iOS, but it does its job well and if you’d prefer to stick with a name you know, this is a good option.

A simple utility from a well-known name. WinZip for iOS is nothing special, but it does what it sets out to achieve.