The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra arrives as a formidable device shadowed by an old tension in consumer technology: the gap between what a buyer pays for and what a manufacturer chooses to include. Up to 40 gigabytes of pre-installed software — some promotional, some privacy-compromising, some simply redundant — quietly occupy a phone that costs over a thousand dollars. This is not a new story, but it is one worth revisiting each generation, because the tools to reclaim what is yours remain available to those who know where to look.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Ships With 40GB of Bloatware Worth Removing
For a phone that costs over $1,000, this bloat feels uninvited.
Mark
So the S26 Ultra comes with 40 gigabytes of bloatware. That's a real number—how was it measured?
Mimi
The reporting identifies specific apps that ship pre-installed and notes the total can reach 40GB, though it's worth noting that not every user will have all of them, and some apps are smaller than others. The figure represents the upper bound of what you might need to remove.
Luke
Right—and that's important. We don't have a breakdown of which apps make up that 40GB, or whether Samsung officially confirmed that number. It's presented as fact, but it could be an estimate based on what reviewers found on their units.
Mark
Why does Samsung even put Facebook on these phones?
Mimi
It's a partnership. Meta pays for placement, and Samsung gets revenue. Same with OneDrive and Microsoft. It's become standard practice in the industry.
Luke
But the source doesn't explain whether Samsung has a financial incentive to keep these apps on there, or if it's purely Meta and Microsoft pushing for it. That's a gap.
Mark
The privacy concerns around Facebook seem serious—AI training on posts, photo access requests.
Mimi
Those are real documented practices Meta has announced. The source is right to flag them as reasons someone might want the app off their phone.
Luke
Though the source doesn't say how aggressively Facebook requests photo access on the S26 Ultra specifically, or whether users can deny permission. It's treating the general Meta privacy posture as reason enough to uninstall, which is fair, but it's not specific to this phone.
Mark
Can you actually remove all of this stuff?
Mimi
Most of it, yes. Samsung Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Samsung TV Plus—those uninstall cleanly. OneDrive and some others are trickier.
Luke
But the source admits that for OneDrive, the "uninstall" button in the store only removes updates, not the app itself. You need Android Debug Bridge to fully remove it, which most people won't do. So the headline says 40GB of bloatware you can remove, but some of it you actually can't, not easily.
Mark
Does the source say whether Samsung is planning to ship fewer pre-installed apps in the future?
Mimi
No, it doesn't. This is presented as an ongoing problem, like last year's S25 Ultra had the same issue.
Luke
That's the real story we're not getting—whether this is changing or if it's permanent. The source is a how-to guide, not an investigation into why Samsung continues this practice or whether there's pressure to stop.
Il Polso
- A flagship phone costing over $1,000 ships with up to 40GB of software its owners never requested, draining storage, battery, and patience from day one.
- Facebook's inclusion is particularly fraught — Meta's AI training practices and aggressive photo-access requests turn a pre-installed app into an active privacy liability.
- Samsung Shop and Samsung TV Plus compound the problem by occupying premium storage with content designed to sell more products or duplicate streaming services users already pay for elsewhere.
- Most of the offending apps — Facebook, Instagram, Samsung Shop, Samsung TV Plus — can be cleanly uninstalled in seconds through the app drawer or settings menu.
- Some apps, like Microsoft OneDrive, resist full removal and can only be disabled or purged entirely through the Android Debug Bridge, a technical tool beyond most casual users.
- The bloatware ecosystem persists because it generates revenue for manufacturers and partners, but informed users can meaningfully improve their device's performance and privacy with an hour of deliberate cleanup.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra arrives as a formidable device shadowed by an old tension in consumer technology: the gap between what a buyer pays for and what a manufacturer chooses to include. Up to 40 gigabytes of pre-installed software — some promotional, some privacy-compromising, some simply redundant — quietly occupy a phone that costs over a thousand dollars. This is not a new story, but it is one worth revisiting each generation, because the tools to reclaim what is yours remain available to those who know where to look.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a powerful phone carrying an unwelcome burden: as many as 40 gigabytes of pre-installed applications that most buyers will never use. For a device priced above $1,000, the presence of promotional software, redundant streaming apps, and privacy-sensitive platforms feels like a poor return on a significant investment.
Bloatware encompasses apps installed before the phone reaches its owner — Samsung's own services, third-party platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and various Google staples. The practical case for removing them is simple: recovered storage, smoother performance, and fewer applications harvesting your data and location.
Samsung Shop is among the easiest targets. Its sole purpose is to push product recommendations to someone who has just spent a thousand dollars on a new phone. Deleting it silences the promotional noise and frees up space — a worthwhile trade, especially for users who plan to keep their device for several years. Samsung TV Plus follows similar logic: it offers ad-supported streaming of content already available on Netflix, Amazon, or HBO, making it a redundant occupant of limited storage.
Facebook raises a more serious concern. Meta's use of user posts to train AI systems, combined with the app's requests to access all photos on the device, makes it a genuine privacy liability. Both Facebook and Instagram can be removed by long-pressing their icons or navigating through the settings menu.
Not every pre-installed app surrenders so easily. Microsoft OneDrive, for instance, only appears to uninstall — what actually happens is the removal of recent updates, leaving the base app dormant. Users comfortable with technical tools can achieve full removal through the Android Debug Bridge. For everyone else, disabling the app through settings stops it from consuming data and battery, even if it doesn't fully reclaim storage.
The bloatware model persists because it generates real revenue for manufacturers and their partners. But for users paying premium prices, the imbalance is increasingly difficult to justify — and increasingly easy to correct.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a capable device, but it arrives burdened with something most buyers won't want: up to 40 gigabytes of pre-installed applications that serve no purpose for the majority of users. For a phone that costs over $1,000, this bloat feels like an uninvited guest taking up real estate on your storage and draining your patience with notifications you never asked for.
Bloatware is the industry term for software that manufacturers and their partners install before the phone reaches your hands. It includes apps from Samsung itself, third-party services like Facebook and Instagram, and various Google applications that come standard on Android devices. The definition shifts depending on who you ask—what one person considers essential, another sees as clutter. But the practical benefit of removing these apps is straightforward: you recover storage space, your phone runs more smoothly, and you reduce the number of applications requesting access to your data and location.
Samsung Shop is an obvious candidate for deletion. Its entire function is to push personalized product recommendations and deals designed to convince you to buy more Samsung hardware. If you've just spent over a thousand dollars on a new phone, the odds that you need another Samsung device in the immediate future are slim. Removing it frees up space and silences the promotional notifications that follow. This matters especially for people who hold onto their phones for years—something Samsung now makes feasible with extended software support windows.
Facebook presents a different problem. The social media platform has accumulated a troubling history of privacy missteps, and the company's recent direction makes things worse. Meta is now using user posts to train artificial intelligence systems, and Facebook actively requests permission to access all your phone's photos. For anyone concerned about where their data goes and how it's used, keeping Facebook on the device becomes a liability. The app can be removed by long-pressing its icon in the app drawer or through the settings menu, and Instagram—which ships alongside it—can be deleted the same way.
Samsung TV Plus occupies another gray zone. The app offers ad-supported access to television shows and movies, which sounds appealing until you realize the catch: you're watching on your phone's screen, and Samsung produces almost no original content of its own. Most of what's available through the service already exists on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or HBO. For a device starting at $1,000 with 256 gigabytes of storage, dedicating space to a redundant streaming app makes little sense. Like the others, it uninstalls cleanly.
Not everything on the S26 Ultra can be removed so easily. Microsoft OneDrive and certain other pre-installed applications resist full deletion. The store listing may say "uninstall," but what actually happens is only the latest updates get removed, leaving the base application dormant on your phone. For users comfortable with technical tools, the Android Debug Bridge offers a path to complete removal. For everyone else, disabling the app through settings provides a middle ground—it stops the app from consuming data and battery without freeing up as much storage as a true uninstall would. To disable an app, long-press it, select the circled information icon, and choose the disable option from the app's settings page.
The presence of this bloatware reflects a business reality that manufacturers and their partners have long accepted: pre-installed apps generate revenue through advertising, data collection, and partnerships. But for users paying premium prices, the trade-off feels increasingly unfair. The good news is that much of it can be removed, and taking an hour to clean up your new phone can make a meaningful difference in how it feels to use.
Citazioni salienti
Facebook is using user posts to train artificial intelligence systems and requesting access to all phone photos— reporting on Meta's current practices
Samsung Shop's entire function is to push personalized product recommendations designed to convince users to buy more Samsung hardware— analysis of the app's purpose
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