Android questions

[AppleDApp]

Android is touted for it's customizability is it possible to remove all apps from the phone itself?

could I remove the default texting app and use something like whatsapp?

Same goes for all other default apps that come with the phone.

 

[vikingjunior]

Yes

 

[Dr McKay]

Android is touted for it's customizability is it possible to remove all apps from the phone itself?

could I remove the default texting app and use something like whatsapp?

Same goes for all other default apps that come with the phone.

Define remove? If you were rooted then yes you can uninstall core apps, but you risk breaking Android effectively. A standard user can disable core apps, they'll no longer appear in the app drawer etc, and you won't be able to access them until you go into settings and reenable them.

And yes you can choose default apps. I used to use another texting app, I set that as default and disabled the built in SMS app. Worked fine.

 

[maxosx]

Android is touted for it's customizability is it possible to remove all apps from the phone itself?

could I remove the default texting app and use something like whatsapp?

Same goes for all other default apps that come with the phone.

My question is why are you asking this question?

 

[AppleDApp]

My question is why are you asking this question?

Because there are several default apps on my iphone I do not use. If I had and android phone I could disable them entirely from the phone from what other users are saying.

 

[maflynn]

Delivered apps, cannot be removed unless you root the phone.

 

[MRU]

Yes

but with stipulations......


1) you must be rooted to remove core software

2) removing core software & service can negatively effect performance of your device. Manufacturers apply a lot of services to enhance performance of their device and hardware with the Android OS. Removing things without knowledge of their impact along the chain can cause issues.

Bearing that in mind...

3) Why not simply 'hide' / 'disable' applications rather than 'remove them fully'.

4) if you only need 'whatsapp' I'd recommend you buy the cheapest Android device possible rather than gimp decent hardware by doing what you suggest. A device is defined as much by its software & skin with android - if your fully intent on fully removing software and services, don't spend money on decent hardware - doing so would be pointless.

 

[mattopotamus]

but with stipulations......


1) you must be rooted to remove core software

2) removing core software & service can negatively effect performance of your device. Manufacturers apply a lot of services to enhance performance of their device and hardware with the Android OS. Removing things without knowledge of their impact along the chain can cause issues.

Bearing that in mind...

3) Why not simply 'hide' / 'disable' applications rather than 'remove them fully'.

4) if you only need 'whatsapp' I'd recommend you buy the cheapest Android device possible rather than gimp decent hardware by doing what you suggest. A device is defined as much by its software & skin with android - if your fully intent on fully removing software and services, don't spend money on decent hardware - doing so would be pointless.

this. Most carrier launchers by default have the ability to "hide apps." If not, you could download nova launcher and hide them and no root is required.

 

[cynics]

Just go into settings and disable them. Aside from the little bit of space they use its like they never existed. Personally I just keep apps I don't use off the home screens and in the app drawer.

 

[maxosx]

but with stipulations......


1) you must be rooted to remove core software

2) removing core software & service can negatively effect performance of your device. Manufacturers apply a lot of services to enhance performance of their device and hardware with the Android OS. Removing things without knowledge of their impact along the chain can cause issues.

Bearing that in mind...

3) Why not simply 'hide' / 'disable' applications rather than 'remove them fully'.

4) if you only need 'whatsapp' I'd recommend you buy the cheapest Android device possible rather than gimp decent hardware by doing what you suggest. A device is defined as much by its software & skin with android - if your fully intent on fully removing software and services, don't spend money on decent hardware - doing so would be pointless.

This is sage advice above.

To which I'll ad a few other thoughts

1a) Rooting is well explained with several choices, yet I'd highly suggest that one does not rush in and root their phone. The new Android ver. 4.1.x or higher ships on most top line phones and runs very well without being rooted. Learn it first, after you've used it for awhile then decide if rooting is needed for your usage.

2a) This point made above, is very true and well explained. Read and heed.

3a) This is what I do for my friends when setting up a new Android for them. I hide the apps.

4a) Another great suggestion.

Enjoy!

 

[Dontazemebro]

Most android devices you should be good to remove things like browser, messaging, gallery etc. Just don't go touching the framework apks. You definitely have a lot more leeway with pure android though, once you start dealing with oem ui's it starts to get a little fuzzy.

Best way to find out what you can and can't remove is to do a complete nand backup first then you can delete files one by one to see what/if it breaks. If it does, just restore your nand and you'll be good.

 

[Heavy Fluid]

Android is a close second to BlackBerry, or at least what you could do on a BlackBerry. You could just hide the icon on the older BlackBerry devices. With my Android phone, like the OP, I didn't want to use the default messaging app on my S3. It lacks customization, and honestly, it looks hideous. Downloaded Handcent, and am using Apex Launcher. I set Handcent as the default, and used Apex to hide it in the app list. It is still on the phone, but I don't have to use it or look at it. No root required.

 

[Jessica Lares]

I only leave the File Manager, Phone, and DSP Manager whenever I install a new build of CyanogenMod. When you don't want to use the phone as a phone anymore, you can actually delete the telephony and phone APKs with no problem.

 

[Stuntman06]

I don't see much benefit in removing those preinstalled apps you don't use. Wouldn't it be easier to just hide them? On Android, I just don't put those icons on my home screen. On iOS, probably the only thing you can do is just put them into a folder and move that folder to the end. These solutions are probably all most people would need to do.

 

[Jessica Lares]

I don't see much benefit in removing those preinstalled apps you don't use. Wouldn't it be easier to just hide them? On Android, I just don't put those icons on my home screen. On iOS, probably the only thing you can do is just put them into a folder and move that folder to the end. These solutions are probably all most people would need to do.

No. If you don't use them, and you can free 100MB, why not? I have a 2GB phone. I need all the space I can get. You can move them to the SD card, but still.

 

[mib1800]

No. If you don't use them, and you can free 100MB, why not? I have a 2GB phone. I need all the space I can get. You can move them to the SD card, but still.

No, you do not. Most pre-installed apps are in /system/apps partition which is read-only. You can't utilize this space even if you remove them. Standard installed apps go to /data/apps partition. Unless you get a ROM which repartition your drives, then it is no point.

Best is forget about root and just hide those apps you don't need (or disable them with caution in Settings->App Mgr->All Apps)

 

[3bs]

Most android devices you should be good to remove things like browser, messaging, gallery etc. Just don't go touching the framework apks. You definitely have a lot more leeway with pure android though, once you start dealing with oem ui's it starts to get a little fuzzy.

Best way to find out what you can and can't remove is to do a complete nand backup first then you can delete files one by one to see what/if it breaks. If it does, just restore your nand and you'll be good.

If this is the OPs first Android device he/she probably won't want to dive into rooting/custom recovery and ROMs and that stuff straight away so that probably isn't a solution for him/her.

I've never seen it being referred to as a nand before (probably because that means something else)

 

[AppleDApp]

If this is the OPs first Android device he/she probably won't want to dive into rooting/custom recovery and ROMs and that stuff straight away so that probably isn't a solution for him/her.

I've never seen it being referred to as a nand before (probably because that means something else)

This won't be my first android device but it will my first time really tinkering with one.

 

[Southernboyj]

This won't be my first android device but it will my first time really tinkering with one.

If you disable them, they're basically removed. If you are rooted though, you can delete/replace them in system/apps though.

I took the default Messaging app and replaced it with a modded version of the same app on my phone.

A warning though, once you start tinkering with custom ROMs and such, you're going to have a hard time going back to your iPhone.

 

[3bs]

This won't be my first android device but it will my first time really tinkering with one.

Do you plan on rooting it +/- installing custom ROMs? It's relatively easy.

 

[AppleDApp]

If you disable them, they're basically removed. If you are rooted though, you can delete/replace them in system/apps though.

I took the default Messaging app and replaced it with a modded version of the same app on my phone.

A warning though, once you start tinkering with custom ROMs and such, you're going to have a hard time going back to your iPhone.

I'm thinking about this in light of my next phone. Nice signature.

Do you plan on rooting it +/- installing custom ROMs? It's relatively easy.

Sure if it is of any use to me.

 

[Southernboyj]

I'm thinking about this in light of my next phone. Nice signature.

Thanks and yes, Rooting is definitely useful. A lot of cool tweaking apps require root. However, those apps are downloaded via the Play Store.

You don't need a different app store like when jailbreaking an iOS device.

Now as far as custom ROMs, that's optional. I personally run a custom ROM on my phone.

I'd check out XDA forums. It's pretty much the official form for tweaking Android. If you are wanting the most supported ROM that is based on stock Android, check out Cyanogenmod.

 

[chagla]

I'm thinking about this in light of my next phone. Nice signature.


Sure if it is of any use to me.

just want to point out, over 90% android customizations can be done without rooting. its just a matter of installing the relevant app from the play store. two minute deal, and no rooting required.

i'd say familiarize yourself with android a little bit, once comfortable you can go root it. rooting does give you some advanced functionality such as ad blocking, access to root file system, custom kernels and roms etc etc.

 

[Stuntman06]

just want to point out, over 90% android customizations can be done without rooting. its just a matter of installing the relevant app from the play store. two minute deal, and no rooting required.

i'd say familiarize yourself with android a little bit, once comfortable you can go root it. rooting does give you some advanced functionality such as ad blocking, access to root file system, custom kernels and roms etc etc.

If you can customise your phone in a way that you like without needing to root, I say just leave it unrooted. If there is something specific you want to do that you need root to do, then take the plunge. There was only one feature I wanted that needed root and that is to change keyboards based on orientation.

I would say that rooting your phone isn't hard to do, but it is definitely not trivial. I think it took me about 15-20 minutes to root my SGS3 once I started. I did some research to find out the method and instructions before hand and made sure I had everything ready. I was going slow as I was reading the steps carefully as I proceeded. It involves connecting your phone to your PC and copying files to your phone and restarting your phone a certain way.

I only installed Keyboard Manager after rooting. I did nothing else.