The red and black of pre-installed software: from cancer to ecology, from addition to subtraction

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On September 16, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a public interview with the media that Apple is considering allowing users to delete pre-installed software in the iOS system. Of course, this is limited to some software, such as some infrequently used applications that do not affect the normal operation of the iOS system.

Pre-installed software, once a cancer, has returned to the public eye with Apple's move. Whether it is to ban pre-installed software to the greatest extent possible and choose minimalism, or to pre-install all ecosystem partners in a nanny-like manner, this has become the respective understanding of the user experience by mobile phone manufacturers, and has also won the love of users.

After years of history of red and black, pre-installed software is changing from junk software in the past to the ecological carrier today. At the same time, the market competition of pre-installed software has also shown two paths of addition and subtraction, showing the different market considerations of different manufacturers.

Former user cancer

As early as the period when the Android system was popularizing the market, the irregularities in the Android application market made it a disaster area for pre-installed software on mobile phones. All licensed mobile phones have pre-installed software to varying degrees. Most built-in applications cannot be deleted or closed through normal channels. Application software runs quietly in the background, consuming a large amount of user traffic. Some software even steals and uploads user privacy information, bringing information security risks.

Behind the cancer is actually a profit chain consisting of a large number of advertisers, game operators and mobile e-commerce companies, and flashing the phone has become the source of this profit chain.

After the mobile phone leaves the factory, it will be installed with various third-party applications in the hands of mobile phone operators, dealers and agents. There are even a number of companies that specialize in pre-installing software by providing flashing packages. Most of these companies exist in the name of "technology companies" and provide "professional flashing" services.

It is understood that the cost of installing each software ranges from 0.5 yuan to 10 yuan. The middleman solution provider will provide the installation plan to the mobile phone manufacturer or agent. The manufacturer will pre-install the software before leaving the factory. In the channel dealer link, the middleman company will flash the phone and pre-install the software, add rogue apps and advertisements, and charge higher fees. The channel dealer can get a profit of several yuan for each mobile phone. For some agents, the income from pre-installed software on mobile phones can be as high as one-third of the total profit.

A person in charge of a game operator once said in an open interview with the media, "The first link in the chain is the mobile phone manufacturer. Some mobile phone manufacturers have established cooperation with Internet and game manufacturers with demand, pre-installed software on new mobile phones, or jointly launched promotional phones with operators."

It is precisely this high profit that drives the rapid growth of the huge industrial interest chain behind pre-installed software.

Today's ecological path

Although the pre-installation phenomenon still exists today, due to the rise of deeply customized ROMs of domestic mobile phone manufacturers represented by MIUI, the software pre-installation industry that once had a profit chain has gradually been cut off by deeply customized ROMs.

Although domestic deeply customized ROMs such as MIUI still pre-install a large number of software, this type of software is not the "cancer" of the past. Instead, it is more of a chess piece used by manufacturers to improve user experience and build an ecological layout.

Take MIUI as an example, it pre-installs some frequently used practical applications such as Yidian Zixun, Amap, and QQ Space, and these applications can be uninstalled. The same is true for Flyme. Apart from some daily applications such as QQ and Weibo, Flyme does not pre-install many infrequently used software.

Although domestic mobile phone Roms often come with built-in applications such as themes, music players, browsers, security centers, emails, etc. that cannot be uninstalled, these applications are obviously intended to make up for some common functions that the system itself cannot provide. The addition of such software can make the operating system more complete and powerful. According to daily observations, the frequency of use of these applications is also quite high.

In addition to improving the user experience, domestic ROMs represented by MIUI are even pre-installing a large number of applications for the ecological layout. In Xiaomi's MIUI, pre-installed applications such as Xiaomi Life, Xiaomi Wallet, Xiaomi Finance, and Smart Home carry the strategic layout of Xiaomi's ecological chain, and can be said to be the vanguard of Xiaomi's sword in various fields.

However, the ecological carrying capacity also brings about problems such as system bloat. MIUI is nicknamed "RAM destruction method" by netizens because of its "nanny-style" pre-installation of too many applications and overly complicated functions, which has also caused aesthetic fatigue among a large number of consumers.

The choice between light and heavy: the addition and subtraction of pre-installed software

The heavy ROM model represented by MIUI has caused dissatisfaction among many consumers, and many latecomers' customized ROMs are unable to achieve the same functional perfection as MIUI. These two factors have prompted some mobile phone manufacturers to choose to take the minimalist route and reduce the pre-installed software to ensure user experience.

Being light has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages. The lack of some functions caused Rom to cause a lot of inconvenience to users at the beginning. In addition, the lack of a broad vision of the ecological pattern has also become a major bottleneck for Rom to add in the future.

Whether it is addition or subtraction, it actually contains the product thinking and strategic choices of each mobile phone manufacturer, and it is also in line with the choices made at the current stage. However, from the perspective of "subtraction", Apple's consideration of allowing users to delete pre-installed software in the iOS system is also a reflection of its emphasis on user experience.

Tim Cook said that many of the pre-installed apps on the iOS system are related to whether the iPhone can run normally. If users are allowed to delete related apps, it is likely to cause device malfunctions. Of course, there are also some apps that will not cause these problems even if they are deleted, so in the future we will definitely find a solution that has the best of both worlds.

The good news is that pre-installed software has changed from being black in the past to being red today, and from adding in the past to reducing today, which is a continuous progress towards improving user experience.