The days of having a junk drawer full of stock iOS apps might finally be coming to an end.
On the way to a surprise appearance at the Fifth Ave Apple Store, BuzzFeed spent 20 minutes with Tim Cook, who revealed some iOS apps will come with a delete option soon. The Apple CEO also talked about the future of computing, 3D Touch, “Hey Siri” privacy concerns and more. Here are the most interesting tidbits from Cook’s drive-by interview:
Apple’s finally going to let you delete stock apps:
“There are some apps that are linked to something else on the iPhone,” Cook told BuzzFeed. “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]…. 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. So I recognize that some people want to do this, and it’s something we’re looking at.”
Cook never tells stores when he’s going to drop in:
“I almost always go in unannounced,” Cook says. “It’s rare that I tell anyone that I’m going. But I do try to go to stores every time I’m traveling to a new city. It’s important.”
iPhone 6s is not a mere incremental update:
“This is clearly not an off-year issue,” Cook says. “This is a substantial change.”
Privacy concerns over ‘Hey Siri’ are overblown:
“First you can decide you don’t want Hey Siri,” Cook explains. “But the real answer to that is that the information is held on the device and so it is not going back to Apple. Apple doesn’t have access to it. So there’s not privacy concerns I think, for most people, when the information is held on their device and they can encrypt it with their passcode.”
3D Touch is the iPhone 6s best feature:
“I personally think 3D Touch is a game changer,” Cook says. “I find that my efficiency is way up with 3D touch, because I can go through so many emails so quickly. It really does cut out a number of navigational steps to get where you’re going.”
Apple releases new features as soon as they’re ready:
“There’s no holding back. We’re not going to look at something and say, ‘Let’s keep that one for next time.’ We’d rather ship everything we’ve got, and put pressure on ourselves to do something even greater next time.”
Tim is still bullish on iPad…
“I think that some people will never buy a computer,” Cook says. “Because I think now we’re at the point where the iPad does what some people want to do with their PCs.”
but the Mac is not going away.
“I think there are other people — like myself — that will continue to buy a Mac and that it will continue to be a part of the digital solution for us,” he adds. “I see the Mac being a key part of Apple for the long term and I see growth in the Mac for the long term.”
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
17 responses to “iOS will finally let you delete stock apps (someday)”
WHY STOP THERE, Tim. It would be nice if Apple let us delete and bunch of other Bloatware from the iPhone.
They have to figure out a way to remove built in Apple apps? What? I like Apple but is he being serious? Pretty sure it’s very easy to not include unnecessary apps in the iOS builds. They make iOS which means they control what comes with the OS which means they can take away apps from the OS. I don’t see what needs to be figured out??? Lol this is hilarious!
It’s not as simple – some apps are integrated into the system (such as Game Center, Maps, Photos, etc.) where as other apps are not as connected (such as Stocks, Photo Booth, News, etc.).
They have countless software engineers working at Apple. Anything can be simple for them. I was talking about unnecessary apps though. Such as stocks, news, etc. Very easy to remove.
I don’t need the stocks app and many other included ones. I don’t see how removing them creates more “bloat”. Every app in the app store is standalone. They need to give us the choice of having their apps on our iPhones. We are all justified in complaining.
Lopemac, obviously you do not CODE or write Scrypt (Script). What you fail to understand, is that Youtube and its coding belongs/belonged to GOOGLE. Therefore, it was a separate entity that could later be removed. Most of the “Bloatware” as you call it, like Stocks, or Game Center, or other apps, were part of the original design, and had a key/integral role in how the phone/devices operated cause it was ALL ONE SINGULAR CODE, each app was not standing alone from each other, they are actually attached (Permanently Integrated) to the rest of the system OS. Sure, they removed some apps in the past, but those apps and coding did not belong to Apple, and were added in separately at some point, so the point of origin or point of position in the Operations System was easy to identify and remove. If you took the sentence “I want to code forever” and squished it into one word “Iwanttocodeforever” and keep saying that sentence repetitive side by side on a constant loop, and add in a single letter that is similar, or identical in some way to the sentence, it is almost impossible to find it amongst the mile long sheet of the repetitive sentencing. I had a rare opportunity to see what the iOS coding looks like, honestly, it is longer than a MILE’s worth of script. It is a slight exaggeration, but I am not far off from the description. The literal coding of iOS 7 was phenomenally long and extensive. I am a NERD, and even I found it a labor to separate everything or to find a break in where something ended and another began, or where one began, and the other ended. Most of the iOS is fully integrated with each other, working as one whole thing. So to take it apart and to identify each tiny morsel, is like doing surgery on a human and trying to isolate a microscopic piece of a TUMOR with a scalpel and a pair of tweezers.
You Obviously do not know what I do or have done. So please do not assume anything. They added it they can take it out. It does not matter to me as a consumer how long it might take. It should never have been added in the first place. It did not take them years to remove YouTube and Google maps so their built in apps could have already been removed. So I agree to disagree. Now let’s move on
1. The discussion is about removing stock apps.
2. Again talking about removing stock apps and making them standalone apps for download in app store.
3. Do I really need to answer “Why?”
1. read discussions if u don’t know
2. read discussions if u don’t know.
3. it’s obvious if you read the discussions
obviously no one is going to make you understand and this discussion is pointless and not worth my time
Here’s what he’s really saying:
“We’re looking at the possibility of allowing users to delete certain stock apps- meaning, only the ones we approve of. We know that literally no one looks at “Stocks”, “Compass”, or “Game Center, so those can (maybe) go. “Find My Friends” was a failure in the App Store, so now we’re forcing it on you; it stays! “Apple Watch” stays, too, because we use it to sell you another device. “Maps” is useless, so you’re keeping it. Ditto “Podcasts”.
Don’t like it? Get a new phone with more storage. I want a fleet of Bugattis.”
Actually Ben, I use Compass an average of 4 times a day, use Game Center at least 5 times a week for tournaments, and I use Find My Friends every weekend for a LIVE (in-Person) game my friends and I invented that is a lot like TAG and Hide&Seek. But it uses the iPhone’s Compass, Find Friends, and MAPS to find the “Keeper”, and hide from the “Executioner”. In basic terms…. the Keeper has the prize (or item to end the game if found/caught), and the Executioner is the person whom is “IT” so to speak, and if they catch you, you stay frozen (stand in place) for 10 mins and unable to find the Keeper.
I love the Podcasts app as I am always interested in the newest or oldest material for projects I work on. I already want the Apple Watch for my own personal gain. As for the STOCKS App, I rather use something more reliable or useful when I want to check the latest Financial News. Please do not speak for everyone else saying ALL those apps are useless, just cause you have no use for them, they still have a legitimate use for many others. Even if those uses seem a bit whacky or odd.
I can’t believe anyone has time enough after work, the kids, groceries etc. to engage in any of that, but congrats, I guess.
In all honesty, I don’t have kids, I practically live alone, and have minimal groceries to worry about, and as for Work, I own my own Business, and can take time off whenever.
You have to look at these features from the point of view of the average Apple user- we’re married, have or are having kids, have jobs outside the home, etc. Many of these features are just bloatware for us.
Alright, even for as you say for being “Average” those apps are still far more useful to you than you would imagine as a Parent, or such. Then again, I have an exceptionally high IQ w/ an exceptionally intense imagination and sense of creativity that would allow me to SEE the full range of usage and NEED those apps could provide. For you, “the Average Apple User” as you so put it, the Game Center App is a fantastic way to “watch” whom your kids are interacting with online when they play games on their phones, especially if they use your Apple ID on their iPhone/iPad, if they have their own Apple ID, you sign into theirs on your devices. “Find My Friends” has few uses, but it is useful none the less if you are a Parent (Easy way to see where your kids are if they have their own iPhones/iPads). I use it to help my buddy Kevin whom loses his iPhone often, and to help him get to where I am or vice versa (he gets lost a lot). I rely on Maps for every place I go, I find it far more reliable for information than any of the other “GPS/Map” apps available to us. I do have “other” apps for that, but they are more/less for Hiking/Walking to track where I am for Hiking Trails I find, or nice walking locations others may want to enjoy. Maps provides far more information for our locations (Nearby stores, buildings, and such). I have tried the countless MAP apps out there, and Apple’s app is far better informatively and for accuracy. You say you are a Parent….. Podcasts is a fun, and easy way to find EDUCATIONAL Topics for your kids to learn from. Sure it has plenty of idiotic video’s, but if you take a few extra minutes of your time, you can easily find the topics worth viewing. Like I said, I run my own business, I use that app specifically for my business’s needs for learning new info.
I can agree that with the exception of my invented game, Compass has very few functions, I use it for my business (I help people set up their Feng Sui in their homes/offices), and the compass allows me to carefully/accurately determine each polarity direction to better assess where everything can go. I also use Compass for my Nieces/Nephews when we go camping every summer. They love to hike and get lost in the woods…. I use Compass for that.
Just cause you THINK there are no valid uses for these apps, you just need a bit more imagination.
I don’t want imagination. I want a phone that works right.
Come on Tim, s updates always incremental. I look at force touch as the least exciting new feature, but I’ll gladly take the updated camera & increased ram. More ram, always more ram.