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Samsung Faces Lawsuit In China Over Smartphone Bloatware
An anonymous reader writes: Samsung is being sued in China for installing too many apps onto its smartphones. The Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission is also suing Chinese vendor Oppo, demanding that the industry do more to rein in bloatware. The group said complaints are on the rise from smartphone users who are frustrated that these apps take up too much storage and download data without the user being aware. Out of a study of 20 smartphones, Samsung and Oppo were found to be the worst culprits. A model of Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 contained 44 pre-installed apps that could not be removed from the device, while Oppo's X9007 phone had 71.
One little problem with this: I bought a Samsung and it has been installing tons of unremovable bloatware ever since. The stuff was not all there at the start.
It's not like there was a sticker on the box saying "Comes with 50 mandatory apps, will install 50 more once you've paid" either. I'd read a ton of reviews and still had no idea about the extent of the iron-fist they take over your device.
And yes, there's no way I'm buying another Samsung ever again, so whether this changes anything is largely immaterial to me.
> no, yes, maybe (tagging beta)
Install CyanogenMod
Android lets you disable preinstalled apps. This won't uninstall it and give you space back but it will at least disable the app from running, uninstall any updates for it beyond the original base app, and disable update for it all together.
Not perfect and annoying having to do it one by one, but it is better then nothing.
Same. I have unsuccessfully tried to root my Samsung Galaxy S5 in an attempt to rid myself of the bloatware that is installed upon it.
Crying baby monitor ? Really ? :|
It is unlikely I will utilize another Samsung device assuming I even bother to go with a smartphone at all.