Samsung makes some of the best phones, and I've been buying and reviewing them for the last 14 years.A common problem is all the bloatware and pre-installed apps, which is why one of my first steps is to purge most of them.Samsung is slowly moving toward Google apps by default, but here are the apps I uninstall or disable on every Galaxy phone.
You know exactly what I'm talking about.You buy a shiny new Galaxy S26 Ultra, turn it on, get everything set up, and then realize dozens of gigabytes get wasted on redundant Samsung apps, Microsoft stuff, games, and more.It's fairly common for people to uninstall or disable bloatware, but some of Samsung's apps are just as useless, so get rid of these ones, too.
Samsung TV Plus We already have enough streaming apps Samsung TV Plus is a streaming service that's been around for years, and while I've tried it a few times, it just feels pointless.The app is Samsung's take on free, ad-supported TV and movies, but it's endless old content available from dozens of other apps or streaming services.You've probably seen the Samsung TV Plus app on your TV, but it's bundled with almost every Galaxy phone, too, and you probably don't need it.
Sure, you don't need a subscription, credit card, or even a login, but the content isn't that great, nor are the ads.Hit that uninstall button, you won't miss it.Samsung Internet Browser It's not as shiny as Chrome You only need one web browser on your phone, just like you only need one keyboard and one phone dialer app.
And while Samsung's Internet app is a decent web browser and some people enjoy all that it has to offer, I just stick to Google Chrome.Google Chrome comes on almost all Android phones, meaning you now have a redundant app with Samsung Internet, and you probably already use Chrome on most of your other devices.Related Samsung Galaxy phones are still great, but their best apps haven't improved in years Great apps are becoming less of a reason to buy a Samsung phone.
Posts By Bertel King Don't get me wrong, Samsung Internet is fairly fast, decently customizable, and is certainly serviceable, but it's based on the same Chromium engine and isn't nearly as polished.Personally, it isn't necessary to keep.Samsung Global Goals A weird app to shove on every Galaxy Every year, Samsung releases a new phone and talks about its renewable energy goals, clean product initiatives, and related initiatives.
Then, it pre-installs the Samsung Global Goals humanitarian app on our phones.I've opened it a few times and browsed around, but eventually you'll get asked to donate to a program.I don't know why, but it just feels weird.
The main idea is to donate to humanitarian programs, or watch ads that'll pay them instead to help support the cause.I get asked to round up or donate at every grocery store, Walmart, and other locations, and I occasionally accept.But right on the phone I bought isn't where I expected to see those requests continue.
I'm all for a good cause, so go ahead and donate if you want, or watch a few ads, then uninstall the app and get some storage space back.Samsung Tips Maybe useful for a first-time buyer Another app I quickly uninstall on every Samsung Galaxy phone is "Tips." It's basically a central hub for Samsung to share tips on the phone, its features and software, along with usage suggestions, guides, and occasionally new feature announcements.I can see how this is somewhat useful for a first-time buyer coming from an iPhone or Pixel, but if you've ever owned a Samsung Galaxy phone, go ahead and delete it.
It doesn't help that all the screenshots on the Galaxy Store showcase One UI 6, even though we're on One UI 8.5 and getting ready for One UI 9.Plus, you can always come to How-To Geek and find detailed roundups about new or hidden Galaxy features you'll love.Samsung Notes I'll stick to Google Keep Which apps you use daily, or which you quickly uninstall, comes down to personal preference.
For example, one of our writers absolutely loves Samsung Notes and uses it over a bunch of other office apps.The problem, though, is that most people are already entrenched in Google's suite, Microsoft apps, or something like Google Keep, myself included.Notes is too basic and doesn't have nearly the feature set of apps like Google Keep, Evernote, or other popular note-taking apps these days.
The only way I can see Samsung Notes truly being useful is for the few people who use the S-Pen very frequently on something like the Galaxy S26 Ultra, or older Note devices.Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Brand Samsung SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Get the new Galaxy S26 Ultra with AI smarts and an all-new privacy display.It's big, powerful, packed with AI, and you'll love the S-Pen stylus. $1300 at Samsung $1050 at Amazon Expand Collapse And this is only the beginning Bloatware comes in many forms, whether it's all the Microsoft junk, redundant Samsung apps, random games, or an increasingly awful number of carrier apps from T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T.
I always uninstall these five apps on any new Samsung Galaxy phone, if not more, and remove as many carrier apps while I'm at it, and you should too.I keep the Samsung Members app for signing up for betas, diagnosing issues, and the small user forum, but I uninstall just about everything else I can.And when you can't uninstall something, disable it instead so it's at least hidden from your app tray.
Once you're done, check out these open-source apps that are worth installing.
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