[sirpunch]

I hope people don't make the assumption that anything that's not coming from Google is harmful and a potential adware/malware. People who support Apple's app store monopoly also use the same logic. Maybe the Indian government needs to push separate bills prohibiting manufactures from packaging crapware. But this is a step in the right direction IMO.

[cafed00d]

> Maybe the Indian government needs to push separate bills prohibiting manufactures from packaging crapware

One person's crapware is another person's batteries-included-ware.

We wouldn't want to ban Sony MP3 players from including an app that plays music, right?

Similar to how we wouldn't want iPods to be banned from coming with an in-built Apple Music.app client[1]

Google's bundled-in variant of an internet browser _may_ be as harmful as Safari on iOS or, quite formidably[2], Internet Explorer on Windows. But unless governments can unambiguously discern whether Chrome is adware/crapware or batteries-included-software we'd not get much use out of regulation.

[1] Please don't flame on me with "iPods don't have Apple Music". What I meant to say is that the on-device application software that ran on iPods is _identical_ to that running on macOS, iPhone etc. It's pretty much the exact same music player code.

[2] IE bundling into Windows is literally what got Microsoft branded as anti-competitive by the Justice Dept. in the late 90s / early 2000s

[smaudet]

"One person's crapware is another person's batteries-included-ware."

Point me at an android phone mfg in the past couple years that didn't come with not just FB preinstalled, but unable to delete. Or a samsung phone that doesn't have that annoying nagware you can't get rid of.

This isn't about 'batteries included' its about junkware being made impossible to remove.

What makes you special enough we all have to do things your way? Nothing. Just putting up with nonsense pushed by the likes of people who think they know best.

[rushikesh98]

Nokia

[2Gkashmiri]

moto phones

[whimsicalism]

pixel?

[neilpa]

> We wouldn't want to ban Sony MP3 players from including an app that plays music, right?

Maybe? There was that time Sony decided to install a rootkit when you played a CD

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootk...

[nmridul]

If Apple ipod is market leader in music player then the device owner should be able to uninstall the "Apple music" and install any 3rd party developed music player on it, this should be OK.

[Arainach]

We don't need to assume. We have decades of experience and data showing that mobile operators will jam phones full of as much spyware, adware, and experience-ruining garbage as they are legally and technically able.

[Spivak]

Yeah, this is basically why Android One, Pixel & Nexus phones, and phones with “Stock Android” we’re/are so popular among tech people because they didn’t come with the carrier or OEM forced uninstallable crapware.

[scarface74]

Well, it’s a good thing we have real lawyers and judges - one of which knocked Epics silly defense that Apple has a monopoly on its own platform was just like saying Sony had a monopoly on PS games that can be distributed.