Apple might finally let you delete the apps that come with your iPhone
Compass, Stocks, Passbooks. I’ve never opened any of them. These apps have been coming standard on the iPhone for what seems like forever, but many people never actually use them. Unfortunately, even if you never use these apps, you can’t get rid of them. iPhones come preloaded with with some un-deletable apps, which can be super frustrating when you’re trying to clean up your screen or clear up space for an app you actually plan to use. Well, for those of us who like to keep our phone clutter to a minimum, there may be some good news around the corner.
Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Inc., says they might soon allow consumers to get rid of the default iPhone apps that are rarely used. According to Cook, “This is a more complex issue than it first appears. There are some apps that are linked to something else on the iPhone. If they were to be removed they might cause issues elsewhere on the phone. There are other apps that aren’t like that. So over time, I think with the ones that aren’t like that, we’ll figure out a way [for you to remove them].”
This means that “critical apps” like Messages, Safari, and Mail aren’t going anywhere, but Apple may be willing to let us let go of some of the others. With iOS 8, Apple added Health, Podcasts, and Tips as built-in apps. With the new iOS 9, you’ll be seeing Find My iPhone, Find My Friends, and News as the latest apps that can’t be uninstalled.
Cook also said, “It’s not that we want to suck up your real estate, we’re not motivated to do that. We want you to be happy.” We can all start to get our hopes up because at least the issue is being talked about, but try to keep in mind Cook didn’t actually offer any solid details on when we might have this new option to free up some phone space. One thing we can be sure of is that iOS 9, which is due tomorrow, won’t have this option as part of the update’s features — at least not initially. We can still pray to the Apple gods in the meantime and hope that the option will be here soon.
(Image via iStock.)
