Bloatware is Unacceptable

[tux2bsd]

My current phone is a Nokia 7 Plus it is still excellent except it has run out of security support.   It came with Android One, a somewhat "stock" variant of Android.  No bloat.  The Nokia 7 Plus was very very good hardware, the only reason it needs replacing is because Nokia ceased its security updates (aka planned obsolescence). 

5 years security support should be the bare minimum across the entire Android cartel, there is a European company called Fairphone that are setting an example with some of their phones, but their devices are not available in New Zealand.  Although, I digress.

For me to change phones and not go backwards in hardware is north of $450NZD.

 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (8G RAM) is $1400. The Samsung A52s costs approx $700NZD. It's about $8.20NZD for a Big Mac.  I give these prices as an indicator of the current market.  I'm happy at the lower end of the mid-range market but will go purchase at the higher end of the mid-range market (e.g. A52s) if I am confident I will be happy with the purchase. 

Samsung A52s, from a hardware standpoint looks amazing.  Samsung tick two boxes for me: Not made in China (yes, I know a significant number of parts come from there).  Security support for 4 years (I'd prefer 5+ but 4 is a good start). 

The bloatware is unacceptable because it is not uninstallable via the phone's UI. "Disable" is not good enough, why should the user have to "disable" software that should not be on the phone to begin with?  Some people have some success uninstalling via ADB  but the bloatware can come back when Samsung release updates, having to go through that procedure after every update would be painful and there is nothing to guarantee that Samsung will not revoke this ability.

There are dozens of pre-installed bloatware items on the phone, there is no telling what security holes are unmitigated and residing within the bloatware baggage either.  The only thing the bloatware achieves is to broaden the surface area to a vulnerability exploit.

Money talks, I wonder how much Facebook (or "Meta") pay Samsung per device shipped with their bloatware?  That is but one big example but kickbacks is the only reason Samsung could possibly have for overlooking the security and integrity of their customers devices.

If Samsung made their phones with a stock Android option that would be the best possible outcome (dreams are free) but a uninhibited uninstall should be available to use user in the phone's UI.  There is no need for the bloat, no need at all - at a bare minimum allow customers to de-bloat using only their phone's UI.

Samsung A52s is only fit for purpose at a hardware level. It is really disappointing to see how backwards Samsung are in terms of their software approach (forcing bloatware on their paying customers!).

I would have purchased the Samsung A52s today but Samsung's mandatory bloatware makes Samsung a non-starter as a phone vendor.  I wanted that phone, it is so frustrating.

[tux2bsd]

My current phone is a Nokia 7 Plus it is still excellent except it has run out of security support.   It came with Android One, a somewhat "stock" variant of Android.  No bloat.  The Nokia 7 Plus was very very good hardware, the only reason it needs replacing is because Nokia ceased its security updates (aka planned obsolescence). 

5 years security support should be the bare minimum across the entire Android cartel, there is a European company called Fairphone that are setting an example with some of their phones, but their devices are not available in New Zealand.  Although, I digress.

For me to change phones and not go backwards in hardware is north of $450NZD.

 Samsung Galaxy S21 5G (8G RAM) is $1400. The Samsung A52s costs approx $700NZD. It's about $8.20NZD for a Big Mac.  I give these prices as an indicator of the current market.  I'm happy at the lower end of the mid-range market but will go purchase at the higher end of the mid-range market (e.g. A52s) if I am confident I will be happy with the purchase. 

Samsung A52s, from a hardware standpoint looks amazing.  Samsung tick two boxes for me: Not made in China (yes, I know a significant number of parts come from there).  Security support for 4 years (I'd prefer 5+ but 4 is a good start). 

The bloatware is unacceptable because it is not uninstallable via the phone's UI. "Disable" is not good enough, why should the user have to "disable" software that should not be on the phone to begin with?  Some people have some success uninstalling via ADB  but the bloatware can come back when Samsung release updates, having to go through that procedure after every update would be painful and there is nothing to guarantee that Samsung will not revoke this ability.

There are dozens of pre-installed bloatware items on the phone, there is no telling what security holes are unmitigated and residing within the bloatware baggage either.  The only thing the bloatware achieves is to broaden the surface area to a vulnerability exploit.

Money talks, I wonder how much Facebook (or "Meta") pay Samsung per device shipped with their bloatware?  That is but one big example but kickbacks is the only reason Samsung could possibly have for overlooking the security and integrity of their customers devices.

If Samsung made their phones with a stock Android option that would be the best possible outcome (dreams are free) but a uninhibited uninstall should be available to use user in the phone's UI.  There is no need for the bloat, no need at all - at a bare minimum allow customers to de-bloat using only their phone's UI.

Samsung A52s is only fit for purpose at a hardware level. It is really disappointing to see how backwards Samsung are in terms of their software approach (forcing bloatware on their paying customers!).

I would have purchased the Samsung A52s today but Samsung's mandatory bloatware makes Samsung a non-starter as a phone vendor.  I wanted that phone, it is so frustrating.

[Samsung_Tahnee]

Hey tux2bsd, thanks for your post. We are sorry to hear that you feel that way! If you would like to discuss your complaint further with a representative from our customer support team, please call us on 0800 726 786 (24/7) or live chat on http://livechat.support.samsung.com/Customer_new/NZ. Cheers, The Samsung NZ Team.