What pre-installed apps are on the Droid Maxx?

I currently use a Droid 2. One of the issues I face is a number of pre-installed apps which I don't want, yet keep sending me alerts a few times per week looking to update them. Of course, to update them, I must sign up for services that I don't want or need.

I would like to upgrade to the Droid Maxx. However, since this issue is really bugging me, I think it would be fair to ask what apps come pre-installed on the phone. And among those apps, which cannot be deleted if I wish to? Can someone tell me which apps are pre-installed yet cannot be deleted? Especially those that will continually bother me about adding unwanted services?

I figure that if I am going to upgrade, it be to a phone that doesn't nag me all the time.

Bryan

Accepted answers

droid_does_life

The MAXX came with many pre-installed apps, but not the ones you have mentioned. Cloud is on mine, but I never use it, and it's never bothered me to do anything with it. The pre-installed apps on the MAXX are:

1. Amazon.com

2. Amazon Kindle

3. Amazon MP3

4. Amazon Apps

5. Motorola Assist

6. Audible

7. Calculator

8. Calendar

9. Caller Name and ID (useless app which you can opt out of)

10. Camera

11. Chrome

12. Clock

13. Double Twist (media player)

14. Downloads

15. Email

16. Emergency Alerts

17. G+ Photos

18. Gallery

19. Google

20. Google Settings

21. Google+

22. Hangouts

23. Help

24. IMDb

25. Ingress

26. Local

27. Google Maps

28. Messaging

29. Migrate

30. Mobile Hotspot

31. Movie Studio

32. My Verizon Mobile

33. Navigation

34. NFL Mobile

35. People

36. Phone

37. Play Books

38. Play Magazines

39. Play Movies & TV

40. Play Music (you get All Access free for 6 months for buying a phone from the new Droid lineup)

41. Play Store

42. Setup Wizard

43. Google Translate

44. Verizon Tones

45. Viewdini

46. Voice Search

47. Voicemail

48. VZ Navigator

49. VZ Security

50. YouTube

Out of these 50 pre-installed apps, not one has bugged me yet. You can always "Disable" pre-installed apps by going to Settings / Apps / (choose app) / Disable.

Better than that, if you want to keep the app, but never be updated, Go to Settings / Active Notifications / Manage Notification Types. You can manually select which apps you would like to notify you, and which ones you would rather just sit there and look pretty. You can also hide notification details when using PIN or password lock. You can also select to have the phone sleep at night (silence notifications) so nothing will bother you while you sleep.

If you're worried about your location access, you're kinda out of luck in today's world. All smartphones are GPS-equipped. If you are downloading an app which requires "Full Network Access", decide whether or not this app really DOES need full network access. Say it's Weatherbug, for instance...Weatherbug's developers are trustworthy, and the app uses your location information to give you accurate weather forecasts. Now say you're downloading an app that provides wallpapers. This type of app seriously doesn't need full network access to function, so it would be up to you at that point whether or not you trust the developer.

Hope this helped! :smileyhappy:

All comments

tikibar1

Pre-installed apps can't be deleted, but they can be disabled and they then don't show up in your app drawer. You also can turn off automatic updates in the Play Store.

droid_does_life

I own a Droid MAXX and have yet to receive one single notice of an update alert for any previously-installed stock app for the phone. Most pre-installed apps have automatic updating anyway, so whenever you connect to a WiFi signal, it'll update by itself without asking you. It WILL, however, let you know in the banner that such-and-such app was successfully updated. This alert is hardly noticeable, and goes away before you really even have time to read it. Basically, it's not a nuisance at all.

You can always go into the Play Store and select "My Apps" in the menu section and choose "Automatic Updating" on your downloaded apps. It'll give you the option also to only update over WiFi to avoid any incurred data charges. The Android system is pretty darn helpful in letting you customize exactly how you want your phone to behave. If you're currently receiving notices every time it wants to update something, then you probably have the automatic updating permission turned off.

CascadiaBryan

It is helpful to know that on the Droid MAXX can allow the update alerts to be turned off. I have not found that feature on my current Droid 2 and was hoping that was a new feature.

However, the point is that I do not want certain apps to auto-update or remind me to do it manually. There are currently 3 apps on my current phone that I really don't want on there. One is Verizon Cloud, which appears that if I do let the app (which it refers to as a "replacement" for something else) I will also be purchasing an unwanted service and allowing the phone to track me in certain ways that I really don't want. Another is "Hangouts-which-replaces-Talk" which (according to the permissions) would allow others to see where I am. The third is Blockbuster Movie Viewer, which I will never use. That one simply bothers me that is always asks to be updated. I can't seem to turn off the updated on my current phone.

I'm trying not to be paranoid or anything, and I do use a lot of technology (and apps) where the phone knows where I am. I was just a bit worried about the wide swath of permissions that these apps require, and the fact that there is no option to just not have the app.

So I guess my question is more like this: Will the MAXX have non-critical apps that cannot be removed and will not require me to update them?

CascadiaBryan

Thank you.

droid_does_life

1. Amazon.com

2. Amazon Kindle

3. Amazon MP3

4. Amazon Apps

5. Motorola Assist

6. Audible

7. Calculator

8. Calendar

9. Caller Name and ID (useless app which you can opt out of)

10. Camera

11. Chrome

12. Clock

13. Double Twist (media player)

14. Downloads

15. Email

16. Emergency Alerts

17. G+ Photos

18. Gallery

19. Google

20. Google Settings

21. Google+

22. Hangouts

23. Help

24. IMDb

25. Ingress

26. Local

27. Google Maps

28. Messaging

29. Migrate

30. Mobile Hotspot

31. Movie Studio

32. My Verizon Mobile

33. Navigation

34. NFL Mobile

35. People

36. Phone

37. Play Books

38. Play Magazines

39. Play Movies & TV

40. Play Music (you get All Access free for 6 months for buying a phone from the new Droid lineup)

41. Play Store

42. Setup Wizard

43. Google Translate

44. Verizon Tones

45. Viewdini

46. Voice Search

47. Voicemail

48. VZ Navigator

49. VZ Security

50. YouTube

Out of these 50 pre-installed apps, not one has bugged me yet. You can always "Disable" pre-installed apps by going to Settings / Apps / (choose app) / Disable.

Hope this helped! :smileyhappy:

CascadiaBryan

Thank you so very much! I appreciate that.

Nauset

I have disabled some of the pre-installed apps on my Droid Max but Google+ and Hangouts worry me, I think they are probably connected to every thing else. Can Google+ and Hangouts be disabled without causing problems?