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IOS Apple

Apple's Stock iOS Apps Land On App Store, Hints That It Could Allow People To Get Rid Of Them (techcrunch.com) 65

Posted by msmash from the good-riddance dept.
For years, people have expressed their desire to be able to remove apps such as Mail, Stocks, Compass, Calculator, Watch, and Weather among others that come preinstalled on their iPhone and iPad. Apple is finally making it possible, it appears. TechCrunch reports: Apple quietly published these apps to its iTunes website today (some are live now), but has not yet officially announced the change on stage at WWDC. Product Hunt spotted the Mail app in iTunes thanks to a tweet from Owen Williams, leading to speculation that Apple's other apps will be made available through the App Store, as well. As it turned out, they were.This was a big issue especially for those users who go for the 16GB variant of the iPhone or iPad, as it has limited storage capacity, and these apps would eat up a significant part of it. The company had previously commented on the issue, noting that these apps work in conjunction with the core of the operating system, so uncoupling them wasn't so easy. Update: 06/14 04:56 GMT by M : It is certainly happening.
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Apple's Stock iOS Apps Land On App Store, Hints That It Could Allow People To Get Rid Of Them More

Apple's Stock iOS Apps Land On App Store, Hints That It Could Allow People To Get Rid Of Them

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  • Nice, but a little late... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by wikthemighty ( 524325 ) on Monday June 13, 2016 @06:57PM (#52311419)

    This is something I've wanted since I got my 2nd gen iPod Touch.

    However, with the addition of folders, this is no longer that necessary.

    I'd happily trade the ability to remove stock Apple apps to be able to open addresses directly in Google Maps...

    • I'd happily trade the ability to remove stock Apple apps to be able to open addresses directly in Google Maps...

      Perhaps if you don't have the Apple Maps app installed and you have another app that exposes the same functionality, it will be allowed to be opened by default when an address is selected? (Just like in most other operating systems.)

      Apple will have to be very careful about this.

      It's cool if it's Google Maps or Waze as the mapping application. Not so cool if it's Fandango or Angry Birds.

  • "hint" ?? Do your research (Score:5, Informative)

    by Chmarr ( 18662 ) on Monday June 13, 2016 @07:13PM (#52311529)

    It's very, very explicit.

    https://support.apple.com/en-g... [apple.com]

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by msmash ( 4491995 ) Works for Slashdot
      Thanks. The story was based on a TechCrunch report. At the time of filing, these documents were not available, I feel.

  • Confirmed, not just hinted (Score:5, Informative)

    by k3vlar ( 979024 ) on Monday June 13, 2016 @07:13PM (#52311531)
    There's now an Apple support document on the subject: https://support.apple.com/en-g... [apple.com]

    Of note: Removing these built-in apps only frees up ~160mb, which isn't a lot.

    Personally, I'm just happy to free up the home screen clutter.

    • Re:Confirmed, not just hinted (Score:4, Insightful)

      by BasilBrush ( 643681 ) on Monday June 13, 2016 @07:27PM (#52311617)

      It also means that Apple can update an app without needing to wait for a new OS version.

      • It also means that Apple can update an app without needing to wait for a new OS version.

        They always could. But they usually just wait until they have enough stuff for a "point release", and then just update the App along with the other stuff.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sootman ( 158191 )

      Furthermore, TFA itself has been updated* to say "UPDATE: After installing iOS 10's first beta build, you are able to remove Maps, Videos, Watch, Reminders, Contacts, Weather, Podcasts, FaceTime, Calculator, iCloud Drive, Voice Memos, Tips, Mail, Compass, Stocks, Find Friends." It's almost as if the editors here don't actually read the stories they link to.

      * Although god forbid they would put that at the TOP of the page... :-|

      • Also, it seems one cannot download updates for these apps in iTunes anymore. They'll list as needing updating, but bring up a dialog saying they can only be downloaded to an iOS device. Or at least that's what my older iTunes what won't work with my iPad running iOS 9.x anymore (which won't run 10), but still works with my orphaned iPhone and iPods Touch and Nano.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by quenda ( 644621 )

      Note: that Apple document says you can "remove a built-in app from your Home screen", not uninstall or delete it.

      When you remove a built-in app from your Home screen, you also remove any related user data and configuration files

      This sounds like Android, where system apps can be disabled, and updates removed, but the original version remains on the read-only system partition, and can be restored, e.g. by factory reset.

      They do not say actually say you can free up 160MB, but implies it doesn't matter, because it would only be 160MB anyway if you could.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jrumney ( 197329 )
        That "only 160MB" is 1% of the total space on their low end devices, and means an extra 30-40 photos or MP3 files that would fit on the device, for those who mostly use it as a camera or MP3 player.

        • No. Apple say that to reinstall an app, you download it from the app store. So the original is clearly not just hidden.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by jrumney ( 197329 )
            You download it to ensure that you have the latest version when it is reenabled. Because any updates were deleted, and the app was not tracked for updates while you had it disabled.

  • The company had previously commented on the issue, noting that these apps work in conjunction with the core of the operating system, so uncoupling them wasn't so easy.

    Sounds like what Microsoft said about Internet Explorer. Turns out, gosh, you can survive with them.

    • The company had previously commented on the issue, noting that these apps work in conjunction with the core of the operating system, so uncoupling them wasn't so easy.

      Sounds like what Microsoft said about Internet Explorer. Turns out, gosh, you can survive with them.

      Or perhaps they removed/moved some Dependencies in the newer versions.

      Not EVERYTHING is a Conspiracy.

  • "The apps built into iOS are designed to be very space efficient, so all of them together use less than 150MB. " https://support.apple.com/en-g... [apple.com]

    150MB out of 16GB, yeah, significant part..., less than 1%

  • The #$%^ing calculator should come AS STOCK on the bloody ipad!
    Is this a big deal? Not really!
    Is it stupid, annoying and a complete waste of my time? YES

    For goodness sakes they are obstinate, it kills me.

  • Stopping selling 16GB phones when the space is clearly inadequate for the phone OS it is expected to hold. The only reason Apple even sell such shitty devices is so they can put a "from $649" when they know the device is sufficiently gimped that people will pay $100 more for a 64GB phone. It's easy money.

    Aside from that, most phone operating systems have a partition for the system and a user partition. If an iPhone follows this kind of layout then I don't see how removing apps will help unless the device

  • Apple has a great calculator on the iPhone and yet in their infinite stupidity they don't have the same app on the iPad forcing users to download one of the crappy ones. WTF !?

    --
    redditard, noun, someone who downvotes you simply because their infantile mind disagrees with you instead of posting a reply to start a discussion so both sides may learn something.

    • Apple has a great calculator on the iPhone and yet in their infinite stupidity they don't have the same app on the iPad forcing users to download one of the crappy ones. WTF !?

      I've noticed this and my reaction was exactly the same: WTF?

      Not having a default calculator app on the iPad puzzled me, I kept thinking that I was just missing it when I looked for it, but nope, it ain't there.

      The iPad may be the only computing device in the last 20 years that doesn't come with a calculator app. Hell, even my stand-alone GPS device has a calculator app on it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      Really? Heh. I didn't even notice that. I always install m48 right away on any iOS device I get and never use the stock app. That is kind of stupid though.

      RPN 4 LIFE!

      • > m48 right away on any iOS device

        Amen! Sadly, back in the day I used to write Saturn assembly code for my HP48SX/GX but for the life of me I can't remember 99% of the HP48 commands since I haven't used my HP48 for ~15 years. :-/

        What's so funny is that the Saturn CPU was a 64-bit CPU computer that would last for months on 3 AAA. Every modern devices's battery life seems like total crap compared to it.

        > RPN 4 LIFE!

        Preach it brother! :)

  • "Apple's Stock iOS Apps Land On App Store, Hints That It Could Allow People To Get Rid Of Them"

    You mean they'll let you delete apps on your own phone, the one that you paid for? SMELL THE FREEDOM!!!

    Thank you Apple! Thank you for letting me delete stuff off my own phone!

    (Yes, I know Android phones have similar issues, but I just couldn't resist.)

  • ...but Google won't allow it because Android is just a vehicle to get you to use their services
    Sadly even MS is going this way with Windows 10. OSs have stopped being tools for the user, they're now tools for the OS maker to get your data and make money off you

  • I'm seeing people jawing over how much/little space is saved on your iphone or ipad by being able to delete the apps, but I'm happy for a different reason:

    More control of my home screen.

    When I got my iPhone, I had to create a folder called "Useless crap" and drag all these icons into it because that was my only option. Being able to get rid of these applications will free a little bit of storage, but more importantly it allows me to unclutter my home screen. When you have a limited amount of visual space t

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