Androids Of The Future Will Grow Increasingly Bloatware-Free

Yes, bloatware is a pain. So much so that China filed cases against Oppo and Samsung, just because of bloatware. Indeed, Android has recognized the need to streamline the system, and, as according to Forbes.com, future Androids may ship with less bloatware.

In the latest releases of the Android, Google has removed preinstalled app requirements. Samsung took the cue on that, and the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ have shipped without the Google+ app. It is a pretty good move, as a good number of users barely even use Google+.

The Forbes.com article by Amit Chowdhry notes that this welcome change to the Android Open Source Project repository frees up new devices from shipping with apps that they may or may not need. In the past, Google has bundled up so many of their in-house apps. While apps such as Google Earth, or Maps are certainly well-built and sophisticated, not a lot of users have need for them. For example, consumers who could care less about finding their way in a new city have no need for Google Maps. Consumers who have no use for seeing a burglar make his way through a second-floor room in rural Greece, as captured by a Google Earth satellite, certainly do not need the Google Earth app. In short, users should have a right to pick and choose what apps they load onto their devices.

Amit Chowdhry also pointed out that these apps would still be available on Google Play, and it should stay that way: An Android user should have the freedom to install certain Google Apps or not.

Amit Chowdhry observes that one of the main reasons why Google is moving to keep the Android ecosystem light and bloatware-free is that the Android One initiative could be compromised because of all the apps they are loading onto new devices. More than that, a majority of smartphones in the developing world are simply too low-spec’ed to handle more than the basic apps.

Frankly speaking, even the high-end devices still suffer a lot of Android’s limitations. Android should be working on streamlining the OS even further, and ensuring that OEMs can seamlessly integrate the system into their hardware. If the security issues and the tech pundits’ comments are to be believed, Android is still a long way off from producing near-perfect devices. But step by step, it is certainly getting there.

***

Amit Chowdhry's article on Forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2015/08/26/android-bloatware/

When China filed lawsuits against Oppo and Samsung for bloatware: https://www.droidreport.com/chinese-consumer-protection-agency-files-case-against-samsung-oppo-bloatware-10070