The news came from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, and actually wasn’t mentioned during the keynote for iOS 10, despite being such a huge change to the software.
Previously, it was rumored that users would simply be able to hide apps from the home screen, essentially meaning that those apps would still be installed on the phone, but wouldn’t take up home screen real estate. In reality, Apple has made a much more significant move. All of the stock iPhone apps are now available for download from the App Store, so if you delete the “Music” app by accident, you’ll be able to get it back.That also means you can delete the apps you never use, whether it’s Stocks or Tips.
Of course, there are a few apps that simply can’t be deleted, likely because they’re tied too deeply to how iOS functions. These include the likes of Messages, Photos, Camera, Clock, and Settings. Obviously those are all apps that are integrated into iOS, and are likely often used by most people anyway. We did get hints that Apple’s stock apps might end up being optional in an earlier Buzzfeed interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
“There are some apps that are linked to something else on the iPhone. If they were to be removed, they might cause issues elsewhere on the phone,” he said. “There are other apps that aren’t like that. So over time, I think with the ones that aren’t like that, we’ll figure out a way [for you to remove them]. … It’s not that we want to suck up your real estate; we’re not motivated to do that. We want you to be happy. So I recognize that some people want to do this, and it’s something we’re looking at.”
The change could also mean that stock Apple apps are set to become a little less dependent on iOS. Now that the apps are available in the App Store, Apple will be able to push updates to the apps quickly rather than waiting for the next iOS update. This could be very helpful if, for example, a security bug is found inside an app. Rather than having to download a new version of the operating system, you could just get an app update, similar to how you would with a third-party app.
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