From now on, Nexus phones will come with the bloatware

lomsha

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There's an interesting article this morning on bgr.com. It's entitled Google Nexus phones won't run pure Android anymore. The article says they spoke with people from the Nexus program who stated that Google will continue working with OEMs to produce Nexus phones, but that they will be encouraging them to include certain features that are not part of Android itself, not part of the stock Android experience. They didn't use the word bloatware, but that's obviously what it is. So enjoy the Nexus 6p, it may be the last in the line with this major advantage over other androids.

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They grossly misinterpreted what Sundar said.
 

anon(5506951)

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They grossly misinterpreted what Sundar said.

I agree. It amazes me how some take things at face value, and don't look deeper. There's a big difference between bloatware and features. Multi Window is a feature. Scroll Capture is a feature. A fingerprint scanner is a feature. Night Mode is a feature. BoomSound is a feature.

On the other hand, all of Cheetah Mobile's apps are bloatware. Carrier branded software is bloatware . This is evidenced by the definition of "bloatware", which is as follows: "Software whose USEFULNESS is reduced because of the excessive space and memory in requires."

Sites will spin stories in every which way to get traffic.

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Aquila

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One cat's feature is another's bloatware ... to a point. I think everyone will agree that Facebook and CleanMaster and that type of nonsense are bloatware, but there's a valid discussion to be had about exactly what apps should be included on devices out of the box - especially those that are not able to be disabled or uninstalled by the user.
 

Kevin OQuinn

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I think it's interesting that people are unwilling to entertain the idea that Google could introduce features on the Nexus line that would qualify as bloat. I saw Now On Tap used as an example. The number of times that I've purposely used that feature can be counted on one hand. Maybe it's because it just wasn't that good (and maybe it's gotten better), or maybe because I forget it's there. I can't say for sure which is more likely. Some people would call that the definition of bloat.

I think the potentially bigger issue would be if Google starts putting things in Nexus that only work on Nexus and aren't available to other OEM partners. Frankly, that part of what I took away from what he said. The other, as stated above, is tighter hardware/software integration. Meaning that there would be far more under the hood things that are specific to the Nexus device in question that basically don't matter to other OEM's.
 

Aquila

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I think it's interesting that people are unwilling to entertain the idea that Google could introduce features on the Nexus line that would qualify as bloat. I saw Now On Tap used as an example. The number of times that I've purposely used that feature can be counted on one hand. Maybe it's because it just wasn't that good (and maybe it's gotten better), or maybe because I forget it's there. I can't say for sure which is more likely. Some people would call that the definition of bloat.

I think the potentially bigger issue would be if Google starts putting things in Nexus that only work on Nexus and aren't available to other OEM partners. Frankly, that part of what I took away from what he said. The other, as stated above, is tighter hardware/software integration. Meaning that there would be far more under the hood things that are specific to the Nexus device in question that basically don't matter to other OEM's.

You underestimate their power...

2016-06-06.png
 

Golfdriver97

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I think it's interesting that people are unwilling to entertain the idea that Google could introduce features on the Nexus line that would qualify as bloat.

I'm not saying that it isn't a possibility; from my point of view, it just seems highly unlikely. I think it mainly depends on what features are added. Also, when I think of bloat, I am not just limiting that term to unwanted applications, but also I'm thinking of the addition of so many features hooked into the ROM that make it twice as large as the original framework (looking at you Galaxy S4...)
 

Kevin OQuinn

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I'm not saying that it isn't a possibility; from my point of view, it just seems highly unlikely. I think it mainly depends on what features are added. Also, when I think of bloat, I am not just limiting that term to unwanted applications, but also I'm thinking of the addition of so many features hooked into the ROM that make it twice as large as the original framework (looking at you Galaxy S4...)

Now build AOSP and then compare that to how much space a Nexus factory image is.... ;) (I'll even allow you to subtract the space taken up by Google apps)
 

VigneshB

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Again, it is very subjective. I know a lot of people who think all the "features" present in TouchWiz to be highly useful which I would personally term as bloatware.
I don't use the stock messenger app, as my SMS needs are met by hangouts which I use as a video communication tool too. Sure, the former is an excellent app, but for me it is just using up space, however negligible. So, can I term it as bloatware? I don't think so.
What I would love the manufacturers to do is install only the apps essential for the phone to run and give us the choice during setup to install all the additional apps. But, again many would hate to have such "complexity".
On topic, as already said, I guess, Sundar was grossly mis-interpreted. I am always ready for new features!
 

epic_user

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If you mean by "bloatware", apps pre-installed by the manufacturer or carrier that the user does not want or use, but that cannot be uninstalled, then the Nexus 6P already has lots of bloatware - Google bloatware! I have numerous Google apps on my phone that I did not ask for and do not use, but cannot uninstall. They are not part of the basic functioning of the OS. They are simply user apps from Google that cannot be uninstalled. In fact there are more of these than there were from Samsung and Sprint on my previous phone. These include: Android Pay, Chrome, Drive, Google Play Games, Google Play Music, Hangouts, Photos, Sheets, Slides, TalkBack, etc.

Isn't this bloatware?
 

Dillan K

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If you mean by "bloatware", apps pre-installed by the manufacturer or carrier that the user does not want or use, but that cannot be uninstalled, then the Nexus 6P already has lots of bloatware - Google bloatware! I have numerous Google apps on my phone that I did not ask for and do not use, but cannot uninstall. They are not part of the basic functioning of the OS. They are simply user apps from Google that cannot be uninstalled. In fact there are more of these than there were from Samsung and Sprint on my previous phone. These include: Android Pay, Chrome, Drive, Google Play Games, Google Play Music, Hangouts, Photos, Sheets, Slides, TalkBack, etc.

Isn't this bloatware?


One man's bloat is another man's indispensable feature.
 

dmxjago

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Honestly as long as it's not CARRIER Bloatware which those are usually the biggest offenders then I'm will most likely be okay with it. Especially if they give us the ability to really uninstall unwanted apps vs only disabling them. :cool: