U.S. Antitrust Legislation Would Require Users to Be Able to Delete All Pre-Installed Apple Apps [Updated]

Update: Bloomberg inaccurately interpreted the original comments and has since drastically changed the wording of its article. The original Bloomberg piece said that Apple would be prohibited from pre-installing its own apps on iPhones.

The updated Bloomberg article has been rewritten to clarify that the antitrust legislation prohibits Apple from preventing users from removing Apple-created apps on their Apple devices, which is quite different.

Under the legislation, users would need to be permitted to remove any Apple-created app. Apple already allows many of its own apps to be deleted, but core apps like Messages, Photos, and Phone cannot be removed. The bill does NOT prevent Apple from pre-installing its own apps, it prevents Apple from blocking users from deleting pre-installed apps. Our original article is below.


Apple would not be permitted to sell iPhones with its own apps installed under proposed U.S. antitrust legislation that was released last week. Representative David Cicilline confirmed the self-preferencing ban in a discussion with reporters, details of which were shared by Bloomberg.

app store blue banner
Rather than pre-installed apps, Apple would have to offer other app options for consumers to download. Right now, iPhones come with a range of free Apple-designed apps from Messages and FaceTime to Calendar and Notes.

"It would be equally easy to download the other five apps as the Apple one so they're not using their market dominance to favor their own products and services," said Cicilline.

Preventing Apple from selling iPhones with its own apps installed would drastically change the iPhone's setup process, making it considerably less streamlined, more complicated, and potentially more expensive if customers were prompted to purchase or subscribe to third-party apps and services to replicate the functionality that Apple provides at no cost.

According to Cicilline, this would also apply to Amazon Prime because Amazon's ability to sell its own products over third-party products disadvantages some sellers.

U.S. House lawmakers last week debuted sweeping bipartisan antitrust legislation in the form of five different bills aimed at major tech companies like Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google. The bills would apply to businesses that have a market capitalization of $600 billion and at least 50 million monthly active users in the United States.

If passed, these bills would overhaul competition laws that have not been revisited for decades and would lead to significant changes in the tech industry. The House Judiciary Committee will review the five bills at a hearing next week.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

idmean Avatar
23 months ago
Ridiculous. That’s what it is.
Score: 141 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DocMultimedia Avatar
23 months ago
No camera app. No calendar app. No photos app. No weather app. No wallet, notes, home, FaceTime,...

What a ludicrous bill. Who will define an "apple app"?
Score: 91 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Absolute Trainwreck Avatar
23 months ago
this is what happens when the show is run by old people whose technical expertise extends to sometimes logging into aol to check their mail. Can’t wait till we age out of that generation honestly
Score: 82 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SueperDrive Avatar
23 months ago
This is definitely not user friendly.
Score: 75 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Serban55 Avatar
23 months ago
and after that google, samsung and the others...this is hard to believe that will happen...
An empty phone...from where do you install the apps since that implies the app store will not to be on the iphone since app store is an APP by apple
The IQ level is very low...and it will not happen
Maybe Cicilline is trolling us
Score: 74 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Spinn_ Avatar
23 months ago
How is this a win for consumers? Shipping a phone that is missing basic functionality because you have to hunt for the apps in the store is a terrible experience.
Score: 70 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Mock Feature Buttonless

iPhone 15 Pro Max to 'Break Record' for Thinnest Bezels on a Smartphone

Friday March 17, 2023 2:59 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro Max will have the thinnest bezels of any smartphone, beating the record currently held by the Xiaomi 13. That's according to the leaker known as "Ice Universe," who has divulged accurate information about Apple's plans in the past. Both iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to have thinner, curved bezels compared to the iPhone 14 Pro, potentially resulting in an Apple...
iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro Feature

iPhone 12 Pro vs. 15 Pro: New Features to Expect if You've Waited to Upgrade

Friday March 17, 2023 10:29 am PDT by
While year-over-year iPhone upgrades are not always groundbreaking, new features can begin to stack up over multiple generations. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro will be a notable upgrade for those who still have a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro. If you are still using an iPhone 12 Pro and are considering upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro when it launches later this year, we have put together a...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Launching This Year With These 11 New Features

Monday March 13, 2023 6:47 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 lineup is around six months away, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes are expected for the iPhone 15 Pro models in particular, including a titanium frame and more. Below, we have recapped 11 features rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A17...
top stories 18mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Pricing, New iOS 16.4 Beta, Siri vs. ChatGPT, and More

Saturday March 18, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's high-end iPhone models have started at $999 in the U.S. since they first launched back in 2017 with the iPhone X, but could this finally be the year that starting price sees an increase? This week also saw some more rumors about Apple's upcoming headset and the company's explorations in the booming AI industry as well as the release of a new round of beta updates, so read on for all...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Predicted to See First Price Increase Since iPhone X

Wednesday March 15, 2023 7:49 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will likely be more expensive than previous Pro models, according to Jeff Pu, a tech analyst at Hong Kong-based investment firm Haitong International Securities. In a research note this week, Pu predicted the iPhone 15 Pro models will see a price increase due to several rumored hardware upgrades, including a titanium frame,...
original iphone auction

Factory-Sealed Original iPhone Sells for $55,000 at Auction

Friday March 17, 2023 1:08 pm PDT by
A first-generation iPhone still sealed inside its box sold for $54,904 at auction, which is more than $54,000 over the original $599 price tag of the device when it was released in 2007. The original iPhone was put up for sale by RR Auction on behalf of a former Apple employee who purchased it back when it first came out. Back in February, an original, sealed iPhone sold for over $63,000,...