Why are we still fighting smartphone bloatware in 2025?

[ad_1] <img class="d_Hg" decoding="async" loading="eager" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="ColorOS Bloatware" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="ColorOS Bloatware" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Bloatware.jpg"/> Robert Triggs / Android Authority

As a Pixel day by day driver for the previous couple of years, I’ve turn out to be accustomed to the modern and unintrustive nature of Pixel UI. Nevertheless, OPPO’s return to UK shores has my internal photographer excited, so this morning, I rushed as well up the Discover X8 Professional, just for ColorOS to cease me in my tracks. Holy crab, I assumed, that’s a ton of bloatware!

Actually, nothing takes the shine off a swanky new flagship quicker than spam notifications and losing even only a handful of minutes uninstalling apps you by no means wished and can by no means use. Nobody has loved doing this up to now 20 years of smartphones, so who retains telling the model bigwigs to maintain up with this utter nonsense?

Did your most up-to-date smartphone include an excessive amount of bloatware? 26 votes

Whereas I dislike having something pre-installed on my new devices, I can at the very least perceive widespread apps like Fb, Netflix, and Spotify sat there as a comfort (whereas netting the producer some additional money within the course of). However what I can’t fathom is why a premium telephone that prices upward of $999 would badger Western customers with storefronts like Fineasy and Lazada or the Asian leisure service iQIYI.

Know your viewers, OPPO. It will probably’t be laborious to write down a brief little bit of code to filter pre-installed apps by the area chosen throughout setup. Depressingly, I’ve written this earlier than about OPPO telephones and clearly had my expectations set too excessive, considering {that a} return to European markets would include some region-specific tailoring to ColorOS. Fortunately, it’s fast sufficient to uninstall these apps from the house display screen.

<img class="d_Hg" decoding="async" loading="lazy" sizes="(min-width: 64rem) 51.25rem, 80vw" title="ColorOS Hot Apps Bloatware" srcset="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware.jpg 1920w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware-1536w-864h.jpg 1536w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware-675w-380h.jpg 675w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware-64w-36h.jpg 64w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware-1000w-563h.jpg 1000w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware-300w-170h.jpg 300w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware-1280w-720h.jpg 1280w, https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware-840w-472h.jpg 840w" alt="ColorOS Hot Apps Bloatware" src="https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ColorOS-Hot-Apps-Bloatware.jpg"/> Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Worse is ColorOS’ absolute rubbish “Sizzling Apps” folder, which, do you have to foolishly comply with its T&Cs, will routinely obtain extra apps you didn’t ask for — and it’ll do it constantly, too. OPPO isn’t alone on this cesspit of shady practices; Motorolla’s Hubs folder additionally plows your telephone stuffed with software program purely for its monetary profit. I can’t think about anybody would voluntarily dip into these folders in the hunt for new apps to check out.

Sadly, nearly wherever you look, bloatware stays the scourge of the Android ecosystem. Xiaomi has all the time been fairly dangerous, and never even its costly Extremely fashions escape the kitchen-sink method to software program. OnePlus’s Oxygen OS is barely getting worse as OPPO’s affect filters deeper and deeper. You may’t escape even for those who pluck for top-brand Samsung, although granted, it isn’t fairly as dangerous. However even it bundles a bunch of Microsoft instruments and LinkedIn with its Galaxy flagships, plus extra of its in-house duplicates the additional down the value tiers you enterprise.

Fortunately, just a few manufacturers have discovered the steadiness of placing their stamp on Android with out badgering the buyer. Nothing’s telephones are fairly clear regardless of the heavy UI pores and skin, and ASUS’ current fashions solely embrace the additional apps like Armory Crate that you simply purchase the telephone for anyway. Then there’s the Pixel collection, after all, so long as you don’t rely Google’s enormous vary of default apps as bloatware. Some actually will.

Nothing takes the shine off a brand new telephone quicker than spam notifications and uninstalling bloat.

Speaking of Google, this brings me to a thought I had whereas mindlessly operating by way of this newest bout of bloatware blasting. Whereas Google is beneath stress from the EU to make it simpler to sidestep its companies for options, I’m beginning to assume this must be utilized extra broadly. Sure, Large G has the monopoly, however shoppers shouldn’t be bombarded by advertisements, junk apps, and shops by anybody else, both. Shoppers deserve a transparent selection in regards to the apps and companies they wish to set up, and all producers ought to respect that. I don’t thoughts Google, OPPO, Xiaomi, Samsung, or anybody else having their very own app retailer, browser, messaging apps, or no matter, simply as long as I can choose those I really need when organising my telephone.

If producers wish to meet me within the center, I’d accept some sure/no class tickboxes on setup. If I may decide right into a model’s curated collection of streaming apps, select to pre-install social media to avoid wasting me time, or just click on “no to all,” that may be OK with me. It’s not excellent, however at the very least that may be higher than losing time manually eradicating as a lot as doable. Pixels allow you to evaluate “further apps” throughout the setup course of; maybe it’s time to make this obligatory.

However sufficient of residing in dreamland. It’s time to complete uninstalling that bloat once more and see if I really just like the telephone buried beneath.