Apple is not really letting you delete native apps

Apple recently unveiled the latest version of its iOS operating system, iOS 10, at the WWDC 2016 conference. One of the most highlighted features of iOS 10 is the ability to ‘delete’ native apps from the device. Apple also confirmed the feature on its dedicated support web page titled “Remove built-in apps from the Home screen on your iOS device with iOS 10 beta.” However, it looks like the story is slightly different than what it appears to be.

According to Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi, iOS users can remove apps from the home screen but not completely delete them from the device. Federighi confirmed this at The Talk Show Live hosted by popular Apple blogger John Gruber. Federighi, who was joined by colleague Phil Schiller, confirmed that even after removing the built-in apps in iOS 10, they still live inside the device (though not visible anymore).


Deleting the app only removes it from the home screen and purges the user data from those apps. Since these apps are baked inside the iOS 10, their binary application remains inside the device itself. These apps are said to be a part of the device because of security reasons. Users can also download these built-in apps from the App Store, which does nothing but adds associations back the apps already sitting inside the iOS 10 device. Apple too on its support page says that users, by clicking on the 'download' icon in the App Store, will 'restore' them.

Some of the apps that can be removed from the iOS 10 are Calculator, Calendar, iCloud Drive, Watch App, Weather, Music, News, iTunes Store, and Facetime.

The mobile OS will be hitting the compatible iPhone, iPod and iPad models later this year. The latest OS version features several new functionalities, which many claim are taken from its arch rival OS, Android.