Samsung get real with TouchWiz in removing bloatware
One of the biggest complaints about Samsung phones and tablets is that they arrive with a lot of bloatware. Whether this is all the pre-installed Google apps many of which you may never need or wish to use but take up space in the ROM that could be better utilized or it could be the many Samsung app like Newspaper app.
The TouchWiz interface adds considerable bloat and affects the speed of the device, especially on the lower end of the market where processors are slower, and both RAM and internal storage space is far less plentiful.
Galaxy S5 Removed Some Bloatware Already
This is not the first time that Samsung have looked to tackle the issue of software bloat. Their Galaxy S5 flagship model cut back on unnecessary features and the number of apps that came pre-installed. Some apps were not available at all and needed to be downloaded if they were wanted which left free space for other app choices. The consumer got to decide more than the manufacturer which these days is usually the better move.
Trimming Down Which Apps Are Pre-Installed
News is now coming out from several sources that the Korean company will be taking a fresh look at the situation for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6. This may be taken to quite an extreme to pair down the TouchWiz experience to near Nexus levels leaving a quite spartan appearance.
Less Is More With Apps
If the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop is included with the Galaxy S6 with its flatter GUI and elegant look then a reduce emphasis on installed apps would go very well with the overall user experience. It is quite likely that apps such as S Voice, S Translator and Story Album may become optional extras as downloadable apps rather than pre-installed ones.
Some Apps Will Not Be Optional
Others apps like S Health will likely be pre-installed because they link to the health sensors and the push with the Wear line into wearables and health tracking via apps.
TouchWiz Skin Also Getting Overhaul For Speed
The company is also working on making optimizations to the TouchWiz code in order to make it run faster. This would be a huge move as the TouchWiz skin is one of the slowest on the market and consumers are showing favor to lightweight skins from Lenovo and HTC over resource hungry ones.