3 ms·

That is not at all fixing the problem. The problem is disk space. There are cost conscious markets (the same places where a microSD slot is mandatory -- so Go

That is not at all fixing the problem. The problem is disk space. There are cost conscious markets (the same places where a microSD slot is mandatory -- so Google has already decided they are not relevant for its devices) that care a lot about disk space. Huge numbers of users in those markets.

Polylactic_acid 7y ago
Thats why I say mostly. I totally understand wanting them entirely gone but for most users you can do the next best thing and the space is not a huge issue.
- Tempest1981 7y ago
  There are a lot of 8GB phones out there, where space certainly is a huge issue. (Or have things improved since Oreo?) Even with a microSD card, not all apps support being "moved" to SD.
Zarel 7y ago
Hm, if a phone is to support a factory reset feature at all, everything it's bundled with needs to be there somewhere in read-only memory. And everything I've read says that disabling an app and removing updates removes it from everywhere _except_ read-only memory. I don't think there's any other way to do this at all, unless you want to give up on having a factory reset feature entirely. I think the only problem is that Android doesn't just call it "uninstall" and hide it better.
- londons_explore 7y ago
  One option is to require an internet connection for the factory reset process. One could imagine a setup where the system is rebooted into some kind of safe mode where only manufacturer-signed packages are executed, all other packages are deleted, and then any uninstalled original packages are re-downloaded from a manufacturer designated server, or even peer-to-peer to save internet bandwidth. Considering the rare use of the factory reset process, and the large cost associated with exabytes of flash memory across all devices worldwide, this seems a worthy tradeoff.

3 ms·

That is not at all fixing the problem. The problem is disk space. There are cost conscious markets (the same places where a microSD slot is mandatory -- so Go

by asveikau 7y ago

Polylactic_acid 7y ago
Thats why I say mostly. I totally understand wanting them entirely gone but for most users you can do the next best thing and the space is not a huge issue.
- Tempest1981 7y ago
  There are a lot of 8GB phones out there, where space certainly is a huge issue. (Or have things improved since Oreo?) Even with a microSD card, not all apps support being "moved" to SD.
Zarel 7y ago
Hm, if a phone is to support a factory reset feature at all, everything it's bundled with needs to be there somewhere in read-only memory. And everything I've read says that disabling an app and removing updates removes it from everywhere _except_ read-only memory. I don't think there's any other way to do this at all, unless you want to give up on having a factory reset feature entirely. I think the only problem is that Android doesn't just call it "uninstall" and hide it better.
- londons_explore 7y ago
  One option is to require an internet connection for the factory reset process. One could imagine a setup where the system is rebooted into some kind of safe mode where only manufacturer-signed packages are executed, all other packages are deleted, and then any uninstalled original packages are re-downloaded from a manufacturer designated server, or even peer-to-peer to save internet bandwidth. Considering the rare use of the factory reset process, and the large cost associated with exabytes of flash memory across all devices worldwide, this seems a worthy tradeoff.