One of the most common requests we’ve heard from iOS users is they’d like to be able to get rid of any stock iOS apps that they don’t have a use for. When iOS 10 is released to the public in the fall, they’ll get their wish.
The iOS 10 beta, released to developers on Monday, allows users to remove any of these 23 built-in apps included in iOS:
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Compass
- Contacts
- FaceTime
- Find My Friends
- Home
- iBooks
- iCloud Drive
- iTunes Store
- Maps
- Music
- News
- Notes
- Podcasts
- Reminders
- Stocks
- Tips
- Videos
- Voice Memos
- Watch app
- Weather
There are a few caveats to removing certain apps, and they are:
- You can remove the Contacts app from an iPhone only. If you remove Contacts, you won’t lose your contact information. You can still find all of that information in the Phone app.
- If you remove the Music app, it won’t be available to use with CarPlay.
- The News app will be removable in a later version of iOS 10 beta.
- If you try to remove the Watch app from an iPhone that’s paired with an Apple Watch, an alert asks you to unpair your Apple Watch before you can remove the app.
Removing the stock apps works the same as deleting any other app:
- Touch and hold the app until it jiggles.
- Tap
on the app, then tap Remove. - Press the Home button to finish.
Removing built-in apps from your Home screen can affect other system functionalities. Here are some examples:
- If you have an Apple Watch paired with your iPhone, removing an app from your iPhone Home screen also removes that app from your Apple Watch Home screen.
- If you remove the Podcasts app from your Home screen, Podcasts won’t be available with CarPlay.
- If you remove the Stocks or Weather app from your Home screen, stocks and weather won’t be available elsewhere. For example, you won’t see stocks and weather information in Notification Center on your iPhone or as Complications or Glances on your Apple Watch.
- If you remove the Calculator app, the calculator won’t appear in Control Center.
If you decide you want to bring back one of the deleted stock apps, you can simply go to the App Store, and reinstall it from there.
