I can't tell you how much I dislike the non-removable apps.<p>It basically killed my first android phone, which was very low end but fine for my needs when I got it.
But it came with a ton of non-removable apps which were fine at first, but then they slowly grew to take up more and more of the storage as they updated, til nothing left.
I could downgrade them again, I think, but they would soon update again and use up the storage.
I guess I could have disabled update, but I wanted that for other things.
Ended up jailbreaking my phone so I could remove them.
But then other apps like the one for online banking refuse to run because "security reasons"
It's very telling that a rule needs to be created to allow users to perform an otherwise obvious action. It shows that big tech don't have even the minimal amount of ethics.
Buried lede:<p>> Apple is also highly likely to object to a provision that would effectively prohibit gatekeeper firms from blocking side-loading or alternative app stores or payment methods—the entire heart of the current dispute between Epic and Apple.
The rule says the app must be removable or the data collected by the app must be shared with smaller competitors, this will probably evolve to also share data with governments at later stage.<p>>As part of its new Digital Services Act, the EU is planning to force the likes of Apple, Amazon, and Google to hand over customer data to smaller rivals in an effort to loosen the grip of big tech on consumers. A draft of the legislation stated that tech companies "shall not use data collected on the platform... for [their] own commercial activities... unless they [make it] accessible to business users active in the same commercial activities."
How is this not going to end up as:
1. Manufacturers installing their own apps... and some junk app by someone else whose name I don't even know well enough to trust.
2. Main vendors sharing data with even more entities who have no business having it, and even less incentive to protect it?
It would be nice if the EU also looked at which APIs these platforms allow third-party apps to use. For example, Android 4.2.2 removed the API for putting the phone into / out of Airplane Mode, requiring phones to be rooted to run apps like this:<p><a href="https://apkpure.com/scheduled-airplane-mode-root/com.galaxy.scheduled_airplane_mode" rel="nofollow">https://apkpure.com/scheduled-airplane-mode-root/com.galaxy....</a><p>Not giving users full control over when they broadcast their effective location to the mobile phone network seems like it should also be a GDPR violation.
As a previous Android user, this feels right. I think the tipping point was the replacement of the e-mail app with Gmail. After that, I got frustrated with the stock app situation and switched to LineageOS to avoid it.<p>As a current Apple user, this feels wrong. I bought iDevices because I <i>don't</i> want my data shared, and want reasonable stock apps—I don't want to spend days comparing every single calendar app because the choice is "necessary". Apple promote third-party apps in the App Store anyway, even when they do the same as their stock apps.
I would love if this can be extended to laptops. I have no need for apps like Safari, Apple TV, Podcasts and Music. Apple doesn't give an option in Launchpad for this. I would prefer to rather not force delete application contents from terminal.<p>With each OS update, I keep finding new annoying apps like Apple TV which seem to pop up at screen without me launching them.
Why can't this just be reached by market pressure? In a free and open market, producers offering unpopular products should not be able to survive for long.