Bloatware is still a problem for Samsung phone users in 2022; one infuriating example is how TikTok is treated as a necessary app in the user interface.
Chinese smartphone vendors like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo have historically faced some justifiable criticism for the volume of bloatware that comes pre-installed on their products.
Samsung is not too far behind with its One UI makeover. On devices that are carrier-locked, the circumstance deteriorates further.
Consider the Galaxy S22 Ultra 5G from T-Mobile, which according to the carrier’s own database has 49 apps pre-installed, is Samsung’s priciest new flagship device. However, things don’t end there.
The number rises to 59 apps on the base Galaxy A03s, with further features like Spotify and McAfee Security. The Samsung Galaxy A32 5G has 77 pre-installed apps, while the Galaxy A52 5G, which was marketed as an Android rival to the iPhone SE, has 90 pre-installed apps, which is just mind-boggling.
None of the aforementioned lists include TikTok, however it seems that some carriers or unlocked devices like to include the well-known app as a pre-installed bonus on Samsung smartphones.
Although it is not a new trend, it is disappointing that customers are still experiencing it in 2022. Reuben Binns, a professor at the University of Oxford, tweeted a picture of the setup page of a Samsung phone, which lists TikTok as a necessary app.
The phone is an unlocked model that resembles a cheap Galaxy phone. Regarding the app’s state now. A necessary app is ultimately a bad thing.
Some of these apps are essential for your device to run correctly and cannot be uninstalled or disabled.
— official Samsung support page
Users can immediately uninstall any pre-installed, non-essential apps on Samsung smartphones when the setup process is complete.
Is TikTok really ‘essential’ to your phone?
Therefore, what options do consumers have if an app is deemed necessary at the system level but cannot be removed? Such apps, according to Samsung, can only be disabled. To accomplish this, click the Disable button in the pop-up window that comes when you long touch the app icon in the app drawer.
Users may also carry out the same action from the settings area. Open the Settings app, pick the Apps option, choose the desired app, and choose one of the two options that are presented: Uninstall or Disable.
Some essential apps, like Camera, won’t display either of the aforementioned choices, though. Therefore, the third choice is to uninstall the app straight from the Play Store page.
There is no getting around an app once it becomes apparent that it is necessary during setup. Samsung phone owners have been irately debating why TikTok is considered a crucial app in the official Samsung forum and on Reddit for at least the last few years.
Uninstalling unused internal apps that are taking up internal storage can be done with the use of a developer tool like ADB, although using such tools is not always simple.
It’s unclear how TikTok is a necessary app, but the majority of smartphone users see it as nothing more than a money-grabbing ploy between the most well-known app in the world and the biggest smartphone seller in the world.
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