ASUS plans on removing one of its biggest problems from its ZenFone lineup, at least partially: bloatware. You probably know they have like 50 or so apps preinstalled and that’s a major issue for storage and for the functioning of the device when they all update at once. Anyway, ASUS claims that when issuing the Android 6.0 update they’ll remove some bloatware.
A few of the Zen UI apps will be cut out, 3 at first: ASUS Messenger, ASUS Mail and ASUS Calendar. They will be replaced with Google Messenger, Calendar and Gmail. Interestingly, those who currently use the apps will continue to have them, even after the update. But, if they perform a factory reset of a device updated to Android 6.0, the Google apps will be set by default as replacements.
Still, you can download the ASUS apps from the Play Store if you want. We look forward to losing at least 10 or 12 more apps from that big list, but I’m guessing bigger and deeper partnerships are involved here, between ASUS and other companies, so they thread lightly. Here are the ASUS phones that will get Android 6.0 in the second quarter of the year:
PadFone S (PF500KL)
ZenFone 2 (ZE550ML, ZE551ML)
ZenFone 2 Deluxe (ZE551ML)
ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition (ZE551ML)
ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KG, ZE500KL, ZE550KL, ZE551KL,
ZE600KL, ZE601KL)
ZenFone Selfie (ZD551KL)
ZenFone Max (ZC550KL)
ZenFone Zoom (ZX551ML)
via Liliputing
