In an interview on Tuesday with Buzzfeed titled ‘20 Minutes With Tim Cook‘, CEO of Apple Inc. addressed many features, privacy concerns, the iPad Pro as a desktop replacement and why you can’t delete Stocks app in a car ride across Manhattan. Cook was on his way from the Flatiron district up to the company’s flagship Fifth Avenue Apple Store for a surprise visit there.
While the whole exchange is worth giving an ear/eye to, the most important issue that Cook discussed that could change the way we see iOS as it is today was the fact that Apple may be considering eventually allowing users to remove those annoying stock apps from their iDevices which are good for nothing except for taking up storage as well as homescreen space.
Cook, when asked why there were apps like Tips, Stocks, Newsstand and Apple Watch, on the iPhone which you do not use and just lay like junk in the app drawer didn’t at all seem surprised. It seems as if he’s been asked this question many times before. Answering why we can’t delete such stock apps, the CEO of the Cupertino said:
This is a more complex issue than it first appears. 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. 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.
So, there you have it, Apple might eventually roll out updates that could allow you to remove those pesky stock apps that just lay waste in your drawer. But the bad news is that Cook didn’t actually provide a specified timeline.
While iOS 9 debuts on Wednesday, it’s sure that the feature won’t be available then, or on iOS 9.1 which is expected to come out in mid-November as its betas haven’t shown any signs yet. The most probable timeframe when this service could roll out would be sometime in 2016. So, it’s going to be a waiting game for iOS users until then.
