Apple releases free tool to delete the free (and unremovable) U2 album 'Songs of Innocence' from your iOS device

by Gary Oldwood on 18 September 2014 · 2275 views

If you’re still not sure that Apple might have pushed it too far when they released the iPhone 6 whose specs belong to 2-year-old Android devices with the price of a device with specs from 2-3 years in the future from now (or probably more), then this will give you another hint. As an Apple little fan that you are, you probably saw the ceremony-kind-of thing that Apple did last week in order to showcase the iPhone 6, the Apple Watch, Apple Pay and iOS 8; and you did see at some point that the band ‘U2’ got up to the stage and started playing some songs from their new album called “Songs of Innocence”.

If you were not too busy listening to the tons of effects in Bono’s guitar to hear anything else, then you must remember Apple CEO Tim Cook talk about something in the concept of “U2’s new album for free in iTunes”. You were excited at that time, with the loud music, a lot of people carrying iPhones and iPads gathered at the same place and time, new old iPhone 6 and all that jazz, so you thought “how cool is that, good Apple giving away new popular album for free! take that, bad rest-of-the-world who you think that all Apple wants is your money!”. Right… I suppose that’s why you’re here now reading this article, trying to find a way to remove the free but non-removable album from your device.

Well, fortunately Apple realized soon enough that they can overcharge people for mid-range smartphones and devices without a problem, but they can’t force those same people to listen to U2 (I don’t think the band's members feel very good about this; even though I, for once, if I was in their place I’d be happy that my audience does not consist of iPhone fans). That’s why they released a tool that was created specifically to delete that one album which was added to your device without permission and you couldn’t delete it. This move makes me think that if Apple was a human being he’d have an IQ below the average pie’s, who just has extremely good survival skills.

How to remove the album

Anyways, here’s the tool you’re looking for. Simply click on the link while logged into iTunes and click “Remove Album”. If you’re a true iPhone/iPad fan, the message included in this tool will convince you to keep the album, although there’s no apparent reason for you to do so.