Sprint is making a commitment to cut back on Android bloatware, or what we users like to call “crapware,” on its Google devices. All the major wireless carriers in the U.S. add a bit of Android bloatware, or carrier-branded software that users can’t delete from smartphones, to Google-powered handsets. And it is very annoying. Sprint is hoping to improve its users’ experience by cutting back – an odd move for a company that introduced packs of bloatware, Sprint ID.
Android fanatics always argue their platform’s superiority to the likes of iOS because Android is “open.” The major downside to the operating system’s openness is that manufacturers and carriers get to tweak it with awful user interfaces, or load it up with the Android bloatware that no one really wants or needs.
Engadget reports:
In speaking at length today with Adib during a Sprint campus walkthrough, he confessed that he jetted back from NYC and immediately informed his team that the bloatware needed to go. To quote: “Ben, we’ve got to get rid of these preloaded apps on our devices. A lot of customers don’t want this.”
If you were ever wondering whether the carriers or manufacturers are listening, they are. Sometimes. On the bright side, future Android smartphones on Sprint will be filled with less bloatware, and fewer crappy pre-loaded apps. This is definitely great news for power users, or even casual users who feel dejected because they can’t seem to get rid of TV, radio, sports, entertainment and navigation apps that they just don’t want or need. And nothing ruins the experience of a nice, high-end smartphone armed to the teeth with powerful hardware and a sexy design quite like a load of stupid football apps and a TV app when you don’t even watch TV at home to begin with.
So, Android users, what say you? Are you glad that you no longer have to root and hack your devices to remove Android bloatware? Or have you grown accustomed to overlooking them and removing them from your home screens?