Ever wondered how many push notifications you get in a day? It’s alright when it's from essential apps like messages, emails, and others. But what about unnecessary first-party apps or “bloatware”? They take up your essential space and constantly buzz off with ads that are both distracting and disturbing.Unfortunately, most Android OS today uses some form of bloatware. We’ve ranked the best and worst in terms of bloatware experience in 2024. Check it out.
What is Bloatware?
Bloatware refers to pre-installed apps on your device that are typically unnecessary. It can include trial versions of software, manufacturer-specific applications, promotional apps, or redundant utilities.
Bloatware apps are almost always first-party apps developed by the manufacturer to provide a “customized” experience for the user. More often than not, this bloatware takes up storage space, consumes system resources (such as RAM and CPU cycles), and may even impact system performance or battery life.
It’s not like that brands aren’t aware of the issues. However, the persistent inclusion of bloatware is due to the ecosystem integration as well as third-party collaboration.
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Defining Android OS Experiences Concerning Bloatware
We already mentioned that most OS out there have some form of bloatware included in the setup process. These bloatware apps can be removed after the first boot. The best metric to rate Android OS in this regard would be to consider the following:
- The number of bloatware apps on the OS
- Whether the OS asks for permission to install bloatware while setting up the phone
- Whether the bloatware can be uninstalled after setup or at any given time
Here’s what we think is the best and worst OS based on the above indicators.
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Top 4 Android OS in 2024 Considering Bloatware
Stock Android on Pixel Series
The current lineup of Pixel smartphones runs the latest Android 14 on them. The Pixel smartphones are quite literally what Android is supposed to be in its true sense. After all, the phones are made by the same company that made Android in the first place.
The stock Android OS on the pixel doesn’t come with any bloatware. There are a total of three inessential first-party apps like Feedback, Pixel Tips, and Parental Control. Other than that, stock Android brings a clean material design that is quick to use and pleasing to the eye.
OxygenOS
Back in the day, OxygenOS was considered to be the best Android skin, even beating the stock Android in terms of usability and customization. But after the merger with Oppo and the integration of ColorOS, OxygenOS lost a lot of its old-school charm.
On average, OxygenOS now comes with 38 to 41 pre-installed apps across their lineup. Around 3 to 5 of them are inessential apps with 1 to 2 being third-party ones.
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One UI
One UI has come a long way since its introduction in late 2018. It was a replacement for the Samsung Experience and TouchWiz, both of which were known for their bloatware. One UI initially had the same problem as well but over the years, the OS only got better.
Today users will be getting around 31 to 32 apps out of the box on any Samsung device. Around 5 of them are unessential first-party apps and 2 of them can be considered bloatware. However, you need to be careful with the setup process as Samsung does ask for permission before installing a host of first-party apps.
LineageOS
LineageOS is often considered the greatest product of Android Open Source Project or AOSP. The OS focuses on customizability built on a Pixel OS skeleton. It offers the same selection of apps on the Pixel with a smooth and material interface.
LineageOS also offers regular security patches and updates to keep users free from threats. The OS doesn’t come out of the box with any device today. Users will have to root and sideload the OS on their Android.
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Android One and Android Go deserve an honorable mention in the list of the best bloatware-free OS. Both of these OS are developed by Android for third-party manufacturers with the latter mostly specialized for low-end Android smartphones. Both these OS offers a clean barebone Android experience with only the essential apps installed out of the box.
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6 Least Popular Android OS in Terms of Bloatware
MIUI
MIUI has forever had bloatware and push ads issues. Xiaomi is often considered one of the earliest adopters of bloatware and third-party installed app concepts. It was a win-win scenario for some time as the ad revenue helped to greatly reduce the price.
On average, MIUI has 49 to 51 pre-installed apps across the line. 6 to 8 of them are inessential first-party apps and about 6 to 7 are third-party apps.
HiOS
Tecno initially got a lot of heat for their unoptimized and lagging UI with their custom HiOS for a long time. While most of the issues have been incrementally solved with each update, the issue of bloatware remained.
Users will be getting 51 preinstalled apps out of the box with any Tecno phones. Among them,15 are unessential first-party apps and 2 are third-party apps.
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XOS
The story of Infinix’s XOS is also somewhat similar to HiOS. The raw power of the processor and the display tech help to offset the cumbersome UI on the XOS.
XOS shows a total of 55 installed apps on boot. 16 of these are first-party unnecessary apps while 2 of them are third-party apps. What’s worse, most of the first-party apps cannot be uninstalled.
realme UI
realme takes third-party app promotion to the next level with their realme UI. Most custom OS come with 2 to 3 third-party apps through partnerships for ad revenue generation. realme UI comes pre-installed with 10 third-party apps. Fortunately, users can delete the apps once booted.
There are a total of 58 apps on boot with 12 inessential first-party apps.
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Funtouch OS
Vivo’s Funtouch OS also comes with significant bloatware on board. Depending on the models, the number of preinstalled apps can be anywhere between 56 to 60. Among them, 10 to 11 are inessential first-party apps. Around 5 to 10 of them are third-party apps. Vivo includes most bloatware with their budget series smartphones compared to the flagships.
ColorOS
ColorOS from Oppo is also among the worst when it comes to bloatware on custom OS. It has the highest number of preinstalled apps with a total of 63 apps on board. 11 of these apps are inessential first-party apps and another 12 to 14 of them are third-party apps.
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Final Words
The problem of bloatware on custom Android OS can be best described as a necessary evil. The ad revenues from the bloatware help to keep the prices down which ultimately benefits the users. But it also creates a bogged-down experience for the users which isn’t all that pleasing.
So far, we have listed the best and worst Android OS platforms in terms of bloatware. While buying a smartphone don’t forget to consider the bloatware issue to get satisfactory user experience.
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