Greatest trick ever! How to disable the featured apps. ^_^

[Jecht_Sin]

Well, at least it's a great trick for me!! I simply hate that ads spamware!

So, long story short I was surfing a bit unsuccesfully trying to look for a solution to disable the samba tv and I came into this (link😞

To COMPLETELY REMOVE the “Featured apps” section from the home screen of your SONY TV:
1 – Turn ON your SONY BRAVIA TV.
2 – Use the remote control and navigate to “Settings”.
3 – Navigate to “Apps”.
4 – Navigate to “System Apps”.
5 – Navigate to “Sony Shelf”.
6 – Navigate to “Notifications”.
7 – Switch to “Off”.

Here a picture about how to disable the notfications in the app:

And here are the results!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Please note how the featured apps that we actually installed (like Spotify, Amazon Video, Playstation Video, etc.) are not lost, but moved into the list of available apps!! And it did stick after the reboot (Android 7.0). What a glorious day!! 

[Kuschelmonschter]

Indeed quite a handy trick. Been using this for about a year already, see here .

However, not all apps appear in the Apps shelf afterwards. In German speaking countries, Maxdome is missing afterwards for example.

I really hate this Featured apps shelf. From my review:

Next up is the Featured Apps shelf which is basically the Sony market place. It presents a mixture of already installed and also recommended apps which is quite confusing. Those app recommendations have never ever presented me with anything useful, pretty much suffering from the same shortcomings as the content recommendations, probably even worse as it does not incorporate our own preferences at all. Sony’s featured apps should be presented in a less prominent place only, like for example the Sony Select store, just like Google’s are in their Play Store.

With the release of Marshmallow, it has become even more cumbersome to find your desired app on the Home screen, as apps that are already in the Featured Apps shelf will not appear in the Apps shelf anymore. So you now have to look in two places with the Featured Apps shelf not even being sortable and apps sometimes switching position or even shelf.

It is still possible to disable Sony’s Featured Apps shelf. Most apps appear in the Apps shelf after a reboot, being manually or automatically sortable (based on a most recently used pattern), some like Maxdome for example are gone from the Home screen.

[Jecht_Sin]

Yeah, I had the feeling it wasn't really that new. But I searched for it in the past (well, not deeply) and I couldn't find anything. I thought it would have been a much more popular hint.

About the apps showing.. I don't know. The few I care about are there. Otherwise, in case, I was ready to put them into the Discover button's app list. I always have an hard time finding them in the featured apps anyway, so..

I mean, do they all show as apps one can add in Discover, don't they? What about Maxdome?

[Kuschelmonschter]

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Jecht_Sin schrieb:

I mean, do they all show as apps one can add in Discover, don't they? What about Maxdome?

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Yes, adding those to DISCOVER will still work. It should also be able to open them via voice command...

[Kuschelmonschter]

I mean, do they all show as apps one can add in Discover, don't they? What about Maxdome?

[Jecht_Sin]

Well then, it's a very small price to pay to get a rid of that junk!! 

Also because, as you know, now the last opened app (featured app included) finally move to the top of the list. Now I wish there was the same option in the PS4.. Well, not that I use the PS4's media apps much anymore, after I have git this tv. I even save on electricity bills!

[Uncle-Hefty]

Forgive for being dim, but is there a way to remove apps selectively?