Bloatware

[planetj7]

Had my S4 almost 2 years. Have decided if Verizon includes bloatware on the S6 I will not upgrade and will probably cancel my service. Thoughts?

[Heretic1989]

Unfortunately crapware, excuse me, bloatware, comes with the territory. The best i believe we can do is get a phone with the least bloatware.

[Snn5]

True, you'll need a Motorola or Nexus to get to the point of no to minimal bloatware.  Cancelling service won't do much for you unless you plan to go through all the hassle to get one brand of phone.

[JGwiz · Accepted solution]

1.) Go to: Settings -> Application Manager

2.) Find the crapware app you dislike and open the app info

3.) Press "Clear Cache" "Clear Data" "Turn Off" & uncheck "Show Notifications"

While this doesn't physically uninstall the app from the phone, it does shut it down and removes it from the App Drawer.

You can check which apps you have stopped by sliding the Application Manager screen to the "Turned Off" page.

I have 42 crapware apps turned off, representing several gigabytes of storage.

There are a few apps that cannot be turned off in this manner.  There are solutions available that will require you to do some research.

My phone runs acceptably well, but I'm still not pleased with all the junk that Verizon/Samsung stuff onto the phone.

The real solution is to write a letter to Samsung telling them why you will not buy another Samsung phone, then go with another brand when you update.  If enough consumers do that, maybe they'll get the message.

[Snn5]

I believe, that with the exception of one or 2 companies, that bloatware will continue as it is added revenue for manufacturers in light of shrinking profit margins on Android.

[jrh4054]

I have read that some of the S6 preinstalled apps (bloatware) can be deleted.  This is really good news, if it's true.  All you can do with the S4 is turn the bloatware apps off.  Of course, that doesn't free up memory.  After I see the S6 features, and read the comments of the first users, I will decide to get it or go to the Moto Droid Turbo.  One thing I don't like already about the S6 is it doesn't have removable battery or an SD card slot.

[Snn5]

Turbo should drop in contract price by then, but if going full price, Turbo won't be the deal to be had with the G4 (if carried), M9, S6 and so on coming along with mid-range phones.