Pre-installed apps on Xperia 5iii?

[Preytheon]

Where can I find a list of apps that are force-installed and not able to be properly UN-installed on the Xperia 5iii?

I was going to buy an Xperia5ii, but have heard that there is a lot that can't be removed... so hoping the Xperia5iii is better!

[Preytheon]

Reason for my concern is that my old Xperia XZ2C has been awesome, but a bit annoying with these sorts of apps (Facebook + Sony News and a few others) that sit on the storage and waste space, chew battery and system resources... but apparently on the Xperia 5ii there are now several much larger apps (e.g. Call of Duty, which is 2Gb AND another 3Gb update).... plus presumably all sorts of Blizzard launchers, etc... none of which I want on a phone as I have a gaming PC, tablets and consoles for that...

Main concern is that this bloat is now ~10% of the 128Gb storage on some phones and I want to make sure I can actually uninstall it, not just disable it.

I would really like to know based on the experience of any Xperia 5iii owners?

[Preytheon]

Is anybody using this phone yet?

It would seem it was announced nearly 5 MONTHS ago, but nobody has it other than internet reviewers, several of whom make references to not having the production release version yet.

I now have a lot more concerns with the Xperia 5iii as there are still no accessories for it (i.e. a case/wallet) and seemingly ZERO carrier/retailer availability for it: Vodafone UK are still selling the X5ii as if it was the latest and greatest....

I don't understand this: I thought Sony now only provide 2 years updates, so if I buy the "April 2020" X5ii from Vodafone , it'll have less than 1 year of Android updates and patches left... and I'd need to sign up for a 36month plan to buy it, so I'll be paying an inflated monthly charge for two YEARS after I need to replace it.... and also, surely they'll be announcing the replacement in a matter of months now?

Really frustrating as I would be perfectly happy with spending 3x as much for the latest, new version of the phone from Sony and just accepting that they'd only support it for 2 years - provided I could actually get it when that 2 year clock started ticking...

I definitely prefer the Sony hardware design and their stock Android feel made them a serious competitor for the Pixels (better camera hardware, SD storage, headphone jacks, etc).... I think I'll change tack entirely, save a bit of money and just pick up a second hand version of last year's model (Xperia 5ii) - hopefully people will start to sell them off as the Android support is due to expire in a few months... then then root it, so I can remove the bloat (Call Of Duty in particular, but also Facebook, etc) and then keep Android up to date.

Very sad times, as it really does feel like Sony mobile has lost their way with moving at the same beat as the rest of the mobile phone industry, but I guess this is such a small part of their consumer electronics division... but will become smaller if they carry on like this.

[EMS_MO72]

Hi there,

Xperia 5 lll is not released yet, so i don't think anyone will be able to answer you regarding the preinstalled apps on the phone.

[Preytheon]

Thanks for the update... I might just get a cheap and cheerful stopgap if my XZ2C completely gives up the ghost.... it's been so good, I'm really keen for another Xperia... hopefully I can hold out a few more weeks until they release the X5iii and people can answer these questions.

I really don't understand the Sony approach: most companies announce, review and release+sell while the hype is high... i.e. within a week or two. Sony announced in April, reviews were around May and it's STILL not released and we're nearly in September.

Main concern remains the bloat from the X5ii: really keen to find out if it exists on the X5iii phone before I buy it... or at least if it can actually be fully uninstalled as I don't want several Gb of disabled apps sitting on the phone. I'd prefer to have the Sony hardware and stock Android with a few Sony camera apps, etc.. i.e. the design + core stuff that Sony does really, really well.... there's no need for them to try to add their own "news" software, much less pre-load Instagram, Facebook let alone anything ridiculous like CallOfDuty.... IF I want any of those, I'm pretty sure I know where to find them all  (and I really don't want to go down the route of rooting an X5ii so I can uninstall bloat)

[Preytheon]

Now it looks like the Xperia 5 III release is pushed back to October?!? And my XZ2C is quite literally falling apart 😠

I appreciate #firstworld problems, but by choices appear to be to spend £800 on a phone that isn't the model I want as the newer, faster, more efficient CPU has been out for nearly 6 months now (in other phones), such as the £1200 on Xperia 1 III, which is only a slight upgrade that provides no meaningful benefit to me (and rewards their delay).... or another option that is being considered is one that is half the price of even the old Xperia 5, the Xperia 10 III - which is new, efficient and only £400.... but it is a lot slower and there are plenty of very similar phones with that spec for ~£200, so if I'm not getting the phone I want, I might as well just make it a cheap stop-gap.

Regardless of which one I end up with - one update I have on on the pe-installed apps: I have found a way to remove ANY "locked" bloat from any Android device, so at least the Xperia 5 II becomes an option if I can take off Sony News + Call Of Duty, etc... it is not for the faint-hearted (PC, USB cable, command console).... but it seems pretty straight forward, does NOT require that you root the device and should allow me to remove bloat.

[Lord_viridis · Accepted solution]

The "pre-installed" apps aren't as huge as some would have you believe.

They are pretty much links to install the full game/ app.

Upon booting phone, delete these apps updates if any on the phone, then disable.

Call of duty takes up 2mb for example.

 

[Preytheon]

Many thanks @Lord_viridis - that's exactly the info I was after initially!!!

I'd be fine if there's only a 2Mb footprint and it will stay disabled (let's hope it doesn't re-enable itself and prompt me to update the app again every time the OS updates - like they had with Sony News). Even that would be a small price to pay for not having to "fudge it" to stop the wasted space and updates.

So we're on the right track, now I just have to hope that the Xperia 5 III goes on sale while the Snapdragon888 is still a current flagship CPU.

Sorry, I know I'm grumbling, but it has been nearly six months of waiting since the announcement, the reviews started ~5 months ago, with most of the competitors have had those CPU's out for several months too.... so I WAS really excited about the Snapdragon888 and particularly the Xperia 5, now I'm just getting fed up with how much behind the competition Sony is.... and frustrated to pay such a premium when the next generation of flagship CPU's will be out in early 2022.... so likely 2-3 months after they eventually release this one.

I'm not sure what they're playing at: the continued delay is just making me look around for alternatives more and more - Xperia1 would be a consideration if it was more like the Xperia5 (more compact and cheaper), but there's no way I'm spending £1200 on a phone that's bigger than I want AND only has 18 months of OS updates left.

[Preytheon]

it's out now - on promotion with all the main carriers, incl the "£250" (£90) WH-H910N headphones....

[Preytheon]

Mine just arrived: I can confirm - CoD and Asphalt are both 2Mb or less initial footprint and can be disabled from the start, so they never "update" (install).... similar story for the 5 different Facebook apps (app/services/messenger/app manager/something else) - they're already there, but they can all be disabled without getting "creative", so ~100Mb stoage wasted, but at least they never waste battery/memory/bandwidth.