{"id":610634,"date":"2026-04-16T12:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/610634\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T12:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:00:16","slug":"i-freed-up-over-1gb-on-my-galaxy-s26-by-deleting-these-7-useless-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/610634\/","title":{"rendered":"I freed up over 1GB on my Galaxy S26 by deleting these 7 useless apps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Hadlee Simons \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve used a lot of Android phones in the past few years, and if there\u2019s one thing Samsung has done right compared to other Android flagship makers, it\u2019s the software. One UI is probably one of the best Android skins I\u2019ve used, and it only gets better with One UI 8.5 on the Galaxy S26 series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It offers great customization options along with a level of stability that, for now, you don\u2019t even see on Apple iPhones. That said, not everything is all good, as despite the clean software experience, Samsung phones still come with a fair bit of bloatware<\/a> and pre-installed apps that many users might not find useful.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, these pre-installed apps take up a noticeable amount of space. Depending on the Galaxy device you have and the region you\u2019re in, the amount of bloatware you have on your device can vary. The good news? You can free up a lot of that space by deleting these seven apps you almost certainly don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n

But after using the Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a> for the past month and a half, I ended up deleting nearly seven pre-installed apps right after setting it up, and you probably can too.<\/p>\n

What do you think is the most useless pre-installed app on Samsung phones?<\/p>\n

48 votes<\/p>\n

Samsung Shop<\/p>\n

10%<\/p>\n

Samsung TV Plus<\/p>\n

10%<\/p>\n

Global Goals<\/p>\n

38%<\/p>\n

Samsung Kids<\/p>\n

17%<\/p>\n

M365 Copilot<\/p>\n

13%<\/p>\n

OneDrive<\/p>\n

2%<\/p>\n

LinkedIn<\/p>\n

6%<\/p>\n

Other (let us know in the comments)<\/p>\n

4%<\/p>\n

Samsung Shop<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Sanuj Bhatia \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

The first app I usually uninstall from every Samsung phone I set up, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra, is the Samsung Shop app. As the name suggests, it\u2019s meant for browsing and buying Samsung products. It pushes personalized recommendations, but in my experience, it also sends a lot of notifications that clutter your notification tray.<\/p>\n

Honestly, most of these feel like ads for Samsung\u2019s latest products. If you\u2019re not interested in constant notifications and want to free up some storage, I\u2019d recommend uninstalling Samsung Shop right after setup. And, anyway, you can always check Samsung\u2019s website separately whenever you\u2019re actually looking for a deal.<\/p>\n

Samsung TV Plus<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Sanuj Bhatia \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

If this app sounds familiar, it\u2019s probably because it\u2019s the same free TV streaming app you see on Samsung smart TVs \u2014 and it\u2019s also pre-installed on Samsung flagship phones. As the name suggests, Samsung TV Plus<\/a> lets you stream free, ad-supported channels directly on your phone. Depending on your region, you can access different types of content, including live TV.<\/p>\n

While that might sound useful to some, you\u2019re probably better off using it on a smart TV instead. On your phone, it mostly takes up storage space. If you just want to watch free content, I\u2019d just recommend using YouTube instead of relying on the TV Plus app.<\/p>\n

Global Goals<\/p>\n

\"Global<\/p>\n

Sanuj Bhatia \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Samsung ships an app on Galaxy devices called Global Goals, which is built in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The app promotes sustainability and charity by letting users watch ads and engage with content to earn credits, which can then be donated to support the UN\u2019s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with Samsung matching contributions.<\/p>\n

It sounds great in theory, and the idea behind it is sound. But in reality, it\u2019s ultimately just another pre-installed app that most people don\u2019t actively use. The app also changes your lock screen wallpaper once you open it, which can get a bit annoying if you prefer keeping your setup the way you like it. And if you\u2019re serious about supporting causes, you\u2019re probably better off donating directly.<\/p>\n

Samsung Kids<\/p>\n

\"Setting<\/p>\n

Sanuj Bhatia \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

The Samsung Kids app on Galaxy devices transforms the device into a safe, child-friendly environment. It restricts access to your personal data and regular apps, and instead offers a curated space with games, basic apps, and tools designed for kids. You can also set parental controls, manage screen time, and customize what apps are available. That said, if you don\u2019t have kids around, this ends up being just another app taking up storage space on your phone.<\/p>\n

M365 Copilot<\/p>\n

\"Bunch<\/p>\n

Sanuj Bhatia \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

In addition to Google apps, Samsung also ships a bunch of Microsoft apps pre-installed, including M365 Copilot. This app is essentially a rebranded version of the Microsoft 365 Office app, acting as an AI-powered hub for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, along with a built-in AI chatbot.<\/p>\n

While it might be useful for people who work with documents on their phone, I find it pretty redundant, especially since I mostly rely on Google Docs<\/a> and Sheets, so I never really find myself opening it.<\/p>\n

On top of that, with Samsung already pushing its own AI features like Gemini screen automation and even Perplexity-powered Bixby, having yet another AI assistant baked into the phone just feels unnecessary.<\/p>\n

OneDrive<\/p>\n

\"OneDrive<\/p>\n

Sanuj Bhatia \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Similar to M365 Copilot, Samsung also ships Galaxy phones<\/a> with the OneDrive app pre-installed, and again, I find it quite redundant. The basic requirement to use an Android phone is a Google account, and the moment you set up your Galaxy S26, you\u2019re already signed in, which means Google Drive is readily available.<\/p>\n

Sure, OneDrive can be useful if you\u2019re deeply invested in Microsoft\u2019s ecosystem, especially for work, but I feel like that use case is fairly limited for many users. Most people probably won\u2019t even open OneDrive on their Galaxy phone.<\/p>\n

And even if you do need it, you can always install it from the Play Store. I\u2019m not entirely sure why Samsung still ships it pre-installed on Galaxy devices, but at least it\u2019s easy to remove.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn<\/p>\n

\"LinkedIn<\/p>\n

Sanuj Bhatia \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Galaxy devices also ship with LinkedIn pre-installed, and this is another app that\u2019s likely unnecessary for most users. LinkedIn is a professional networking app, and while it can be useful for some, I\u2019m not sure it makes sense to have it installed by default for everyone. It\u2019s not something most people need on their phone right away.<\/p>\n

For many users, it just sits there unused. And even if you do use LinkedIn occasionally, it\u2019s easy enough to download from the Play Store whenever you need it. Personally, I\u2019d rather have the option to install it myself rather than have it pre-loaded.<\/p>\n

Get that bloatware out of here<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

Joe Maring \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n

Add all of these apps together, and when you delete all seven, you\u2019ll free up over 1GB of storage on your phone. The final count may vary slightly, but for something that takes all of a couple of minutes, that\u2019s not too shabby at all.<\/p>\n

I understand some people worry that removing pre-installed apps might affect performance or cause issues, but that\u2019s usually not the case. Most of these apps are there because of Samsung\u2019s partnerships, promotions, or bundled services \u2014 not because your phone actually depends on them to function properly.<\/p>\n

I do wish Samsung gave users the option to choose which apps they want during setup, but that\u2019s not how it works right now. Thankfully, you can easily uninstall or disable most of them once you\u2019re done setting up your device.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n

\"google\"google<\/a><\/p>\n

Thank you for being part of our community. Read our\u00a0Comment Policy<\/a> before posting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hadlee Simons \/ Android Authority I\u2019ve used a lot of Android phones in the past few years, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517943,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[64,63,203,1047,6540,17382,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-610634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-mobile","11":"tag-samsung","12":"tag-samsung-galaxy","13":"tag-samsung-galaxy-s26","14":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}