Manufacturers need to ship fewer Google apps with Android smartphones

Google has reduced the number of apps that manufacturers must provide if they want to release an Android device with Google’s approval. In this case, it concerns applications such as Play Games, Play Books, Google+ and Newsstand.

The apps will be listed as non-mandatory Google apps, in addition to Google Earth and the note-taking app Keep. The apps will remain in the Play Store and can be installed as a regular app, but it makes a difference in the number of apps that can be supplied and therefore in the space that users have left over from the internal storage, Android Central reports. The story on the Android blog follows the news that the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ comes without Google+ preinstalled.

In order to be able to supply parts from the Google apps suite, such as Gmail and the Play Store, the manufacturers must adhere to a number of rules. After they create their own Android version, the version must be submitted to Google for approval. After that, the manufacturer gets a list of specific applications that he has to preinstall. In addition, there should be a folder of Google apps on the home screen, just like a search bar.

The fact that Google requires fewer applications does not mean that manufacturers themselves do not put bloatware on the devices. Bloatware is a common practice on smartphones, although it varies by manufacturer and device how much the manufacturer provides.