Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, February 19, after activating a new phone, have you noticed that there are a lot of applications pre-installed on your phone, which not only take up a lot of storage space, but may even push ads, and some of them can't even be uninstalled? In response, the Economic Daily said it is imperative to standardize mobile phone preset applications.

The article said that in recent years, major mobile phone manufacturers will pre-install application software in new phones, which has become a "standard action." These pre-installed applications include browsers, input methods, audio and video, shopping malls, finance, information, games, and so on. There are three main sources: first, mobile phone manufacturers' own applications, aimed at building an ecosystem of mobile phone brands; second, applications bundled and installed by operators on customized machines in cooperation with mobile phone manufacturers; third, application developers "shop" mobile phones before they leave the factory for marketing and promotion.

The article believes that although the mobile phone pre-installed software is "understandable", but mobile phone manufacturers should not ignore the feelings of users. What consumers generally resent is not the pre-installed applications themselves, but that they cannot be deleted. This kind of compulsive operation will not increase consumers' good impression of mobile phone brands and applications, but will bring a lot of bad reviews. On the one hand, preset applications affect the consumer experience. On the other hand, there is a hidden risk of infringement of preset application software-some force push advertisements, excessively ask for permissions, and even collect user information without the user's knowledge, thus infringing upon the right to privacy.

CTOnews.com learned that in recent years, relevant departments have issued a number of measures to regulate the preset behavior of application software. In 2013, a pre-installed application declaration system was implemented and regulated; in 2017, it was stipulated that software with non-basic functions should be uninstalled; and in 2022, the type, scope and quantity of "basic functions" were further clarified. and requires the provision of safe and convenient uninstallation methods for users to choose. However, it is not easy for consumers to regain the right to unload. Some manufacturers play word games on "basic functions", while others try to promote applications in a more covert way.

Governance of preset applications is so difficult because there is a strong interest drive behind it. With the maturity of China's mobile phone hardware industry chain and the lower and lower gross profit margin of mobile phone hardware, the competition of smart phones has gradually shifted to software and services, and the ecology of coding application software of major mobile phone manufacturers has become a breakthrough direction. Preset application software not only brings huge income, but also achieves the goal of binding customers, seizing the market and promoting the industrial chain, so that there is a phenomenon that "the mobile phone has been returned before it is sold".

The article thinks that standardizing the preset application software needs the joint efforts of all parties. Mobile phone manufacturers need to shape their own differentiated competitive advantage through product and service innovation, gradually reduce their dependence on preset applications, and return the right of choice to consumers. Application developers should strive to improve the attractiveness of the software itself, rather than retaining consumers through forced tying. Regulators need to constantly refine the relevant measures to enhance the binding force of standards and specifications on preset applications, and truly realize "whose mobile phone is in charge."

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