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Google is a company that constantly speaks about giving users the freedom to do what they want to their own smartphone, giving them the ability to gain access to root files and change whatever they please. This includes removing applications that come pre-loaded with the system, which otherwise wouldn’t be possible to uninstall; these applications include the whole array of Google own apps and services, such as Google Play Store, Gmail, Google+, Newsstand, Drive, Hangouts, Play Games, and Play Music among others. Until today, these apps and services came pre-loaded in every single Android powered device that makes use of the numerous Google services, as the internet giant itself demands manufacturers to install all of the applications if they want to, for example, have the Google Play Store included with their device. Today, Google announced that this won’t be the norm anymore, and that the number of Google’s own applications will be sightly reduced.
Google seems to have finally acknowledged that several of its own services and apps are not used by that many people to be a requirement for manufacturers. Several of Google applications are in fact considered bloatware by some users, which their only function is to clutter a device’s app drawer and occupy space in the memory. Starting today, Google will no longer force manufacturers to install 4 specific applications that were reported to be the most unused and bloatware-esque. These applications include Google Play Games, Google Play Books, Google Play Newsstand, and Google+. These applications will no longer be bound to the other services, and their installation will be completely optional; this is a great move by Google, as one of the main complaints from numerous of its competitors is that the company forces users to use its own services, not giving a chance for third-party developers, a conflict that has also given Google some trouble with the European Commission.
It is unclear why Google suddenly decided to change this policy, or if it was to help the company against the current conspiracy of competitors charges that it is currently facing; but either way this change is a welcomed one, as Google now gives users more freedom to decide which apps populate their device.