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Please Apple let us remove the bloat!

C

cRuNcHiE

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 2, 2007
778
46
Why must we have apps like 'stocks', 'newstand' and now 'podcasts' and 'tips' and 'health' forced on us?

It's getting a bit bloated!

I am never likely to use any of these yet we can't delete them.

You have an App store for downloading these types of things!

Is it time we got a petition going!?!
 
cRuNcHiE said:
Why must we have apps like 'stocks', 'newstand' and now 'podcasts' and 'tips' and 'health' forced on us?

It's getting a bit bloated!

I am never likely to use any of these yet we can't delete them.

You have an App store for downloading these types of things!

Is it time we got a petition going!?!
Click to expand...

Agreed. Hopefully by iOS9 Apple move to follow Google's approach with this and decouple these apps from the OS. Not only could we then pick and choose what we want but this would have the additional upshot of allowing them to update them asynchronously from iOS. Given iOS8's strides towards a more open and 3rd party extension friendly platform, this remains one of the few areas in which I see them lagging behind Android at this point.
 
They definitely added more apps than they used to. Podcasts and iBooks used to be optional. I feel like Health should be optional too since it's useless to iPhone 5 users without a Watch or Fitbit. Maybe it works for those that use running apps, but I can't find a use except for keeping my emergency info easy to access.
 
BasicGreatGuy said:
It isn't bloatware. They are simply stock apps that are part of the OS, that you don't have any interest in using. Continue to swipe right by them. Not a big deal.
Click to expand...

Furthermore, bloatware has negative effects on system performance. The number of apps installed has absolutely zero affect on system performance, therefore the pre-installed apps are not bloatware. I do think it would be nice for Apple to have a page in the Settings app that allows you to hide those apps from the home screen, however.
 
BasicGreatGuy said:
It isn't bloatware. They are simply stock apps that are part of the OS, that you don't have any interest in using. Continue to swipe right by them. Not a big deal.
Click to expand...

It is bloatware because it is making the OS bigger than it needs to be.

They are not crucial to the functionality of ios, unlike the App store app or settings, messages etc
 
I agree that iOS isn't "bloated".

Every modern OS (except iOS iPad :mad: ) includes some kind of calculator. Weather and Stocks are just convenient apps to have on hand. iBooks, iTunes, and the App Store all link to Apple's major three online stores. I've never understood why iBooks wasn't there by default.

I agree that Podcast, Tips, and Newstand really should be apps presented to you when you set up your phone, but not preinstalled. To me Tips should be something in Settings. Still, just drop them in a "Utilities" folder and move on.
 
I just make a folder names "Apple" and move all those unwanted Apple apps inside it.done.
 
cRuNcHiE said:
Why must we have apps like 'stocks', 'newstand' and now 'podcasts' and 'tips' and 'health' forced on us?

It's getting a bit bloated!

I am never likely to use any of these yet we can't delete them.

You have an App store for downloading these types of things!

Is it time we got a petition going!?!
Click to expand...

No. I am thrilled that Apple doesn't allow unappreciative whiners like you to delete the quality apps they design and bundle with the device. Put them in a folder, move it to a lonely page on your home screen and be done with it.

A petition. Good grief.
 
cRuNcHiE said:
Why must we have apps like 'stocks', 'newstand' and now 'podcasts' and 'tips' and 'health' forced on us?

It's getting a bit bloated!

I am never likely to use any of these yet we can't delete them.

You have an App store for downloading these types of things!

Is it time we got a petition going!?!
Click to expand...

I feel they all will serve a significant service, with the exception of "tips". I cannot believe they've given us an app which is useful for about 2 min and it can't be deleted. I'm sure a lot of people appreciate the thought (so did I) but they should have surely given us the option to delete it afterwards.
 
cRuNcHiE said:
Why must we have apps like 'stocks', 'newstand' and now 'podcasts' and 'tips' and 'health' forced on us?

It's getting a bit bloated!

I am never likely to use any of these yet we can't delete them.

You have an App store for downloading these types of things!

Is it time we got a petition going!?!
Click to expand...

Podcasts was originally part of iTunes on iPhone OS and disappeared on iOS 5. I'm glad it's back.
 
BasicGreatGuy said:
It isn't bloatware. They are simply stock apps that are part of the OS, that you don't have any interest in using. Continue to swipe right by them. Not a big deal.
Click to expand...

Padmini said:
No. I am thrilled that Apple doesn't allow unappreciative whiners like you to delete the quality apps they design and bundle with the device. Put them in a folder, move it to a lonely page on your home screen and be done with it.

A petition. Good grief.
Click to expand...

Apple have plenty of apps, iphoto, pages, numbers etc that I use but they are not forced upon me.

Why should tips, newstand and stocks of all things be forced on users?

Furthermore, by making them optional it doesn't stop you from getting them so what's with the attitude?
 
When the base model is still 16GB then being able to remove unwanted stock apps could make a big difference.

Should be able to remove podcasts, iBooks, stocks, weather, newsstand, at least.
 
I agree with the OP, we the users should be able to remove some of these apps. What value do they really serve except as a way for Apple to try and get more people to buy content through them?
Those who find them useful that is great, for those that do not it would be great if we could uninstall them.
 
blueflower said:
I agree with the OP, we the users should be able to remove some of these apps. What value do they really serve except as a way for Apple to try and get more people to buy content through them?
Those who find them useful that is great, for those that do not it would be great if we could uninstall them.
Click to expand...

No option to buy from stocks. Podcasts are free
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
Next, you'll want the OS to have absolutely nothing except Settings... Technically that's the only app you "need".
Click to expand...

I think you'll agree that some apps are less crucial than others.

Podcasts, iBooks, newsstand, stocks, all of these should be optional. They're not embedded in the OS in any way and not everyone needs them.

Things like messages, Mail, FaceTime etc are understandably embedded as they're part of the central feature set.

Those other apps should be optional installs as lots of people don't need or want them.
 
Swear. Some of you Apple nuthuggers are amazing, lol. "Pfft. I don't need the option to delete something I don't use. It is a great app. Just hide it in a folder." Uhh, what? :rolleyes:

To be fair, Google has certain apps that you can't delete either. HOWEVER, there is an option to disable them. That way they are still on the device, but they are 'hidden' from view. They don't show up in the app drawer, but if you want to use it in the future a simple trek into settings will re-enable it.
 
matttye said:
I think you'll agree that some apps are less crucial than others.

Podcasts, iBooks, newsstand, stocks, all of these should be optional. They're not embedded in the OS in any way and not everyone needs them.

Things like messages, Mail, FaceTime etc are understandably embedded as they're part of the central feature set.

Those other apps should be optional installs as lots of people don't need or want them.
Click to expand...

I can argue not everyone needs FaceTime, Mail or Messages. Some people use Skype, WeChat, WhatsApp, Gmail, etc. I can also argue that reading books or magazines on a smartphone is part of the central feature set. Or listening/watching podcasts. And so forth.

How crucial each app is is not solely determined by you or me or anyone in this thread. It's determined by the end user (which number in millions or billions). The premise and logic of this thread can go both ways. The only logical solution is to put nothing on there except Settings and App Store. Settings to change how the device functions and App Store to get all the apps you want and need. Technically, everything else besides these two are needed.
 
Its pretty annoying. I have a folder called junk where I stick even the settings app into. That tip app is the most annoying too. Why is that not removable lol
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
I can argue not everyone needs FaceTime, Mail or Messages. Some people use Skype, WeChat, WhatsApp, Gmail, etc. I can also argue that reading books or magazines on a smartphone is part of the central feature set. Or listening/watching podcasts. And so forth.

How crucial each app is is not solely determined by you or me or anyone in this thread. It's determined by the end user (which number in millions or billions). The premise and logic of this thread can go both ways. The only logical solution is to put nothing on there except Settings and App Store. Settings to change how the device functions and App Store to get all the apps you want and need. Technically, everything else besides these two are needed.
Click to expand...

The only logical solution would be to provide options to the end users that spend the money on the devices and the apps to support the companies making the products. Hiding them in a folder still doesn't prevent the 1-2gb of space that apps take up that I can't remove.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
I can argue not everyone needs FaceTime, Mail or Messages. Some people use Skype, WeChat, WhatsApp, Gmail, etc. I can also argue that reading books or magazines on a smartphone is part of the central feature set. Or listening/watching podcasts. And so forth.

How crucial each app is is not solely determined by you or me or anyone in this thread. It's determined by the end user (which number in millions or billions). The premise and logic of this thread can go both ways. The only logical solution is to put nothing on there except Settings and App Store. Settings to change how the device functions and App Store to get all the apps you want and need. Technically, everything else besides these two are needed.
Click to expand...


Facetime ( Video calling) , Messages ( Text and iMessage) and Mail (email) , are all communication apps.

Considering iPads and iPhones were spawned from smartphones which in turn came from (dumb)phones who's sole purpose was for communication and they in turn could do video calling, text messaging and email it is not unreasonable to bake these into the core of the OS.

Internet browsing is also a core feature of a smart phone so safari is also fine but choice would be good (apple doesn't allow other browser apps to use the nitro engine)

I'd say any extra service apps exclusive to apple should probably be optional downloads or at least have the option to be removed. Or would you be fine with garageband being installed on every idevice by default. Afterall pro-audio recording is one of apples biggest 'things'.

There is no harm in having choice so why people like you would oppose it baffles me.
 
SnowLeopard2008 said:
I can argue not everyone needs FaceTime, Mail or Messages. Some people use Skype, WeChat, WhatsApp, Gmail, etc. I can also argue that reading books or magazines on a smartphone is part of the central feature set. Or listening/watching podcasts. And so forth.

How crucial each app is is not solely determined by you or me or anyone in this thread. It's determined by the end user (which number in millions or billions). The premise and logic of this thread can go both ways. The only logical solution is to put nothing on there except Settings and App Store. Settings to change how the device functions and App Store to get all the apps you want and need. Technically, everything else besides these two are needed.
Click to expand...

Fine, I can get on board with those two being the only mandatory apps.

There should be a simply way in the settings to reinstall stock apps without having to go through the App Store.
 
I do agree with this. One of the things I likeabout apple was the little amount of bloat. Not so much anymore.
 
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