All iPhone users are different, but we all probably have one trivial question we’d love to ask Steve Jobs. Well, aside from whether or not he had a mysterious plan to build a flying Apple Car. Why can’t we delete default apps? Not everyone who owns an iPhone cares about the stock market. Tim Cook, thanks for having my back with the Compass that one time I was stuck in the woods without cell service said nobody.
Whether it be Tips, Stocks, Health, Reminders, Passbook, iBooks or Podcasts, you’d think there would be at least an option to delete something you don’t want on your expensive new iPhone 6s Plus. Hate to break it to you, but there’s not, not yet anyways. But I’ll get to that later. For now, try this easy new iOS 9 trick to get rid of home screen clutter and make unwanted Apple apps disappear.
How to delete default iPhone apps from the home screen:
1. Press and hold an app icon until they all start wiggling.
2. Drag an app on top of another to create a new folder.
3. Within the folder, drag an app to the far right to create another page. Release your finger.
4. Drag the app to the far right again to create page 3. Do not release your finger.
5. Quickly press the home button and the app will fly away.
6. Repeat
Remember Apple does not necessarily condone this strategy, so be careful. This trick is really just for organization purposes to remove clutter from your home screen. It doesn’t actually free up space on your iPhone. Check out the video below for a demonstration. I’m not sure why the demonstrator chose to delete Settings. That’s probably not the best idea. However, it will not be gone forever. This solution is temporary. When you restart your iPhone, you will have to do this all over again. When I tested it out, I didn’t name the folder ‘Disappear’ and the trick still worked.
The good news is, CEO Tim Cook told Buzzfeed in October that Apple will “figure out a way” to delete unnecessary apps over time. “I recognize that some people want to do this, and it’s something we’re looking at,” said Cook. However, he notes that removing default apps isn’t as simple of a task as you’d think. “ There are some apps that are linked to something else on the iPhone. If they were to be removed they might cause issues elsewhere on the phone.” He adds there is no ulterior motive involved, “Apple isn’t trying “to suck up your real estate. We’re not motivated to do that.”
