The world of smartphones is always in a state of flux. No manufacturer in the business can show the audacity of resting on its laurels, as competitors are always striving to break new ground. Back in the day, having superior hardware used to be a guaranteed slam dunk. Now, thanks to advancements in the software department, only hardware superiority doesn’t cut it. OEMs are also required to bless their devices with a powerful ROM— flaunting features that are exclusive to the said OS.
Talented developers wasted no time to develop exclusive features and services. But the added weight did more harm than good, with many users deeming the feature-heavy, bulky ROMs unusable.
Over the last few years, we have seen developers shift from bulky ROMs to lightweight utility software. Samsung ditched its bulky TouchWiz in favor of One UI (now 2.0), while companies like LG and Sony, too, have shed a lot of weight.
Despite the OEMs’ best efforts, some users are still not satisfied with the look and feel of their devices, out of the box. So, in this piece, we’ll tell you all about the unwanted applications on your mobile phone and see if we can help you get rid of a few of them.
What are pre-installed apps?
Smartphone manufacturers often bundle in a few apps that they think would enhance your experience. For example, South Korean OEM, Samsung shipped devices with apps like Spotify and Google Chrome, pre-installed, thinking that users would find this gesture thoughtful.
Now, if you are someone who is an avid user of the said applications, you would indeed find Samsung’s decision thoughtful. However, to someone, who uses other applications for music streaming or web browsing, Samsung’s well-intended effort only adds unnecessary bulk.
Also, there are instances where manufacturers bundle in commercial software, which, more often than not, does more harm than good. You are not likely to use any of them, but they will keep on drawing resources until the end of time.
Can you remove pre-installed apps?
As clarified in the section above, pre-installed apps are quite risky to adjudge. They can come in handy on occasions, but mostly they are a nuisance. Back in the day, getting rid of them used to be almost impossible. Thankfully, manufacturers have become a little more flexible on that front and now allow you to uninstall or disable some pre-installed applications.
How to remove or disable pre-installed apps?
If you want to get rid of pre-installed applications, you have two options — uninstall and disable. You can’t uninstall a majority of pre-installed applications even if you want to, so, disabling them pretty much remains your only option.
Disabling certain applications also gives you the option of enabling them when you see fit, which we believe is a handy choice to have. Disabling an application doesn’t remove them from your device, but you won’t be seeing the icons on your app drawer.
To demonstrate, we will take two pre-installed applications — Spotify and Google Chrome — on a One UI-powered Samsung Galaxy flagship.
Let’s see how to remove pre-installed apps from your Android phone.
1. Uninstall the App
We are taking the Spotify app for this guide to explain how you can uninstall the pre-installed app. Let’s see how to do this.
Step 1: Go to Settings.
Step 2: Open Apps.
Step 3: Tap on the search icon at the top of the screen.
Step 4: Search for Spotify.
Step 5: Open the app.
Step 6: Tap on Uninstall and confirm.
Step 7: The app will be completely removed from your device.
2. Disable the app
We are taking Google Chrome as the pre-installed app for this guide wherein we talk about disabling the pre-installed app. So, let’s see how to disable the Chrome app.
Step 1: Go to Settings.
Step 2: Open Apps.
Step 3: Tap on the search icon at the top of the screen.
Step 4: Search for Chrome.
Step 5: Tap on Google Chrome.
Step 6: Tap on Disable.
Step 7: Confirm when a pop-up appears.
Step 8: The app will be removed from your Home screen, app drawer, and all other places.
To re-enable, just traverse the process and simply tap on Enable.
Can you remove/disable all pre-installed applications?
Some applications can neither be disabled or uninstalled, such as Settings or Calendar. These apps are essential to your system, so, the manufacturers restrict users from tampering with such applications.
Which phones come with the least pre-installed apps?
If you’re looking for devices with the least number of pre-installed applications, you’ve come to the right place. Google Pixel devices should be your undisputed choice if you’re looking to taste unadulterated Android.
Essential Phones, too, offer an identical experience, while also guaranteeing superfast updates. Chinese OEM, OnePlus, also offers a near-stock Android experience with some added perks. Most of these apps/services are tastefully picked by experts, so, you won’t feel suffocated.
Apart from the manufacturers listed above, Android One devices also offer a vanilla Android experience that’s worth exploring. Motorola arguably has the best lineup of Android One devices, so make sure to check the lineup before getting a new device.
