South Korea says 'no more!' to mobile bloatware

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jan 2014 1:26 User comments (11)

Thanks to new industry guidelines beginning in April, South Korean smartphone users will be able to delete all the bloatware pre-installed on their new phones.

"The move aims to rectify an abnormal practice that causes inconvenience to smartphone users and causes unfair competition among industry players," said the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

By having the ability to delete apps, users will have more storage space and improved battery life, says the Ministry.

With the exception of a few "necessary items" related to Wi-Fi, NFC and App Store connectivity, carriers and OEMs will have to make all other pre-installed apps deletable.

One example noted by the Ministry is the Galaxy S4 released by Korean carrier SK Telecom. The device has 80 pre-installed apps, 39 by Samsung, 25 by SK and 16 by Google. When the guidelines hit, at least 50 percent of those 80 will be deletable.

Tags: South Korea Bloatware

<Minecraft on PS3 reaches 1 million sales >The latest iWatch concept is probably the coolest one yet

126.1.2014 13:37

GryphB

Send private message to this user

Member

It would be nice if that would also become a standard internationally. I'd say I use less than 1% of the apps that came with the phone.

226.1.2014 15:01

baxter00

Send private message to this user

Member

I don't see that ever happening in the US.

326.1.2014 22:08

GryphB

Send private message to this user

Member

Originally posted by baxter00:
I don't see that ever happening in the US.

Of course not. We are capitalistic and doing so would take that away.

427.1.2014 01:29

scorpNZ

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

Yeah for sure a whole lotta junk i'll never use & no way to get rid of it,honestly wtf am i going to do with a walking distance meter just to name one what a useless app

527.1.2014 01:57

KillerBug

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

Originally posted by GryphB:

Originally posted by baxter00:
I don't see that ever happening in the US.
Of course not. We are capitalistic and doing so would take that away.

Don't blame capitalism. You can buy a Nexus or you can root a non-nexus and install a cleaned ROM (or just manually delete the APKs for the apps you don't want). If not for capitalism we would still be using Motorola bricks and the only reason we wouldn't have bloatware would be the 16K of ram.

627.1.2014 19:01

GryphB

Send private message to this user

Member

Originally posted by KillerBug:

Originally posted by GryphB:

Originally posted by baxter00:
I don't see that ever happening in the US.
Of course not. We are capitalistic and doing so would take that away.
Don't blame capitalism. You can buy a Nexus or you can root a non-nexus and install a cleaned ROM (or just manually delete the APKs for the apps you don't want). If not for capitalism we would still be using Motorola bricks and the only reason we wouldn't have bloatware would be the 16K of ram.

Very true. But at least S.K. is making it so that their residents don't have to go through hoops and hurdles to get rid of the crap we don't need.

727.1.2014 20:24

KillerBug

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

Originally posted by GryphB:

Originally posted by KillerBug:

Originally posted by GryphB:

Originally posted by baxter00:
I don't see that ever happening in the US.
Of course not. We are capitalistic and doing so would take that away.
Don't blame capitalism. You can buy a Nexus or you can root a non-nexus and install a cleaned ROM (or just manually delete the APKs for the apps you don't want). If not for capitalism we would still be using Motorola bricks and the only reason we wouldn't have bloatware would be the 16K of ram.
Very true. But at least S.K. is making it so that their residents don't have to go through hoops and hurdles to get rid of the crap we don't need.

Well, they are at least making it so that the hurdles that people DO have to go through to remove the bloatware do not void warranties. In spite of the additional work to setup phones with removable bloatware, I'm sure it will still be there (normally these apps are installed as part of the ROM). I'd still rather see these corporations learn their lesson the hard way, but I can certainly understand why the government they pay taxes to wouldn't want that.

831.1.2014 10:44

NHS2008

Send private message to this user

Senior Member

Originally posted by scorpNZ:
Yeah for sure a whole lotta junk i'll never use & no way to get rid of it,honestly wtf am i going to do with a walking distance meter just to name one what a useless app

I use it!

931.1.2014 19:14

yeller

Send private message to this user

Newbie

Buy an iPhone, it has no bloatware.

Apple is the only company to give US carriers the finger when they wanted to garbage up the iPhone.

106.2.2014 09:48

phobet

Send private message to this user

Member

Having bloatware installed on your device is one of the true costs of having a subsidized phone. Those subsidies have to come from somewhere, and you know the telcos won't foot the bill if they can get someone else to.

116.2.2014 12:01

KillerBug

Send private message to this user

AfterDawn Addict

Originally posted by NHS2008:

Originally posted by scorpNZ:
Yeah for sure a whole lotta junk i'll never use & no way to get rid of it,honestly wtf am i going to do with a walking distance meter just to name one what a useless app
I use it!

You can download the app if you want it.

Originally posted by yeller:
Buy an iPhone, it has no bloatware.

I know that isn't true...at the very least there is Apple's crummy maps program and that facetime crap that is like hangouts except it only works with other Apple devices.

	VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31) VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times. 2 user comments
	Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09) Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier. 8 user comments
	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19) Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
	Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38) Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028. 5 user comments
	How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25) The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. .... 18 user comments

	GUIDE: Wi-Fi speeds are slow? Here are some tips Having problems with Wi-Fi speed and stability at home? Here are some tips to follow to alleviate the issues. 1 user comment
	HOWTO: Install Netflix App on rooted Android device 'This app is no longer compatible with your device. Contact the developers for more info.' If you are getting this message from Google Play when trying to install Netflix, then maybe this little guide can help you.
	What IP rating for dust and water resistance means An IP classification (such as IP68) is given to mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, and other devices, but what do these classifications mean? 1 user comment
	What happens if you don't update Android? Sometimes it can be tempting to avoid updating to a new Android version. What happens if you decide to delay major updates to the OS?
	Windows 11: Check if TPM is enabled on your computer In this short guide we will look at how you can check the status of Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on your PC ahead of the coming launch of Windows 11.

South Korea says 'no more!' to mobile bloatware

11 user comments

Latest news

Reviews

Guides

News archive

Subscribe

Sections:

Follow us:

	Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
	Review: Samsung Jet Bot 90 AI+ - a high-end robot vacuum cleaner Samsung's Jet Bot 90 AI+ is a top-class robot vacuum cleaner that can avoid obstacles and empty its own dust container. Here we review the product. 1 user comment
	Samsung Jet Bot 80+ review - excellent robot vacuum cleaner We review Samsung's Jet Bot 80+ robot vacuum cleaner over a period of three months. 1 user comment