Dropbox, the cloud storage service, has updated its iOS app to version 1.5 which now more closely resembles the Android version. New features include automatic uploads, gallery view - a better way to view content - and the option to earn more storage.

Automatic uploads govern photos and videos in the camera roll, over Wi-Fi and cellular connections, with a prompt after the update asking for permission to store images and videos. The Android app received the update in February, which Dropbox positioned as a backup tool and photos and videos would go into the same folder as the desktop app.

Mac and Windows versions of the apps can also upload from "just about any camera, smartphone, tablet or SD card you can connect to your computer." Users could then upload 3GB of content for free, the previous limit was around 2GB, and it still applies but is given out in 500MB sizes. The Verge suggests the storage earned will correlate with the amount of content uploaded.

Dropbox very quickly moved from being the leading cloud storage provider to one of many, with Microsoft's SkyDrive service emerging in Windows 8 and Google Drive taking over Google Docs. The services have different storage limits and different price tiers, but a decision over which service users should use probably comes to down to how invested a person is into an operating system. If sharing content over Google Docs is essential, then Drive is a no-brainer. Likewise, if Windows 8 is going to be a day-to-day OS then the direct SkyDrive integration will be a convenience.

The only issue is with iCloud, as Apple's service doesn't allow documents to be shared or edited: it's strictly for uploading photos/videos and setting up devices.

The new gallery view also provides a better way to view content, probably because users are going to be uploading more media as a result of the updates. Other minor features include moving/deleting multiple files at the same time and uploading files of any size. The 1.5 update is available now in the iOS App Store.