My Pixel has always felt fast enough, but I’ve been surprised by how much of an experience it is with apps I’ve never used. Like most Android phones, it came with a few Google apps installed, most of which I ignored. Instead of taking it for granted, I decided to take a closer look at what I had on my phone. I wanted to see what apps I could uninstall without disrupting the way I use my Pixel. The intent was not to destroy Android or make dangerous changes. I just wanted to know if a little cleaning would make my phone feel lighter and more focused.
My pixel
The easiest choice
My Pixel was one of the first presets I looked at. This is a hub of Pixel-related information, tips and advice that you might find useful when you’re new to the phone. But after using my Pixel for a while, I realized that I wasn’t getting much out of it. I already knew where most of the settings and features I used were, so there was no reason to keep opening the app.
I also didn’t need another app sitting on my phone to give me tips or show me the Pixel features I’d already discovered. Since I don’t rely on it on a daily basis, it was an easy decision to remove it. This was one pre-installed app in my app drawer that served no real purpose for me.
Google Health
A health app I can skip
Google Health is another app that I haven’t seen much reason to use on the Pixel. I mostly use my phone for everyday tasks, so a separate app focused on health information wasn’t particularly useful. After checking how often I opened it, the answer was simple: I never did.
I also didn’t want to leave apps just because they were preinstalled when they weren’t part of my regular routine. Turning off Google Health was more like an easy cleanup than changing the way I use my phone. I can still use the health features and services I need through the apps I choose to keep. I didn’t believe it, so I uninstalled it and moved on to the next app on the list.
The core of AI
I didn’t need the background AI
AI Core was a bit of a different case because it’s not a typical app that I open and use directly. It works like a background component that supports certain AI-related features on the Pixel device. I noticed it while looking through the apps installed on my phone and at first I wondered if I needed it. Since I’m trying to cut down on things I don’t use, I decided to check what happened after I uninstalled it instead of just leaving it installed.
I noticed that anything I was using regularly stopped working or behaved differently. I didn’t notice any significant change in my setup after removing it. This was easily added to my cleaning list, especially since I wasn’t using the component itself directly.
Google TV
The TV app is gathering dust
I rarely used my Pixel to browse or manage my TV and movie library, so I quickly deleted this app. I watch most of my content elsewhere and didn’t need another entertainment app on my phone. I also didn’t use its suggestions or discovery features enough to justify keeping it.
Since it doesn’t connect to anything important in my daily use of the phone, I removed it during cleaning. After that, I didn’t notice any difference in the way I used my Pixel as usual. For me, it was just another pre-installed app that no longer served a purpose. Deleting it reduced one unused app on my phone and less space in my app drawer.
Google Password Manager
I already have the passwords saved
Password Management was a little different from the other apps on my list because I had my own password manager of choice. I use Bitwarden to store my passwords and handle autofill, so there’s very little reason to keep Google Password Manager as a separate app.
I didn’t want two password managers competing for the same job or getting confused when filling in login details. The Google app seemed redundant on my Pixel, as Bitwarden already covered what I needed. I removed it and checked to see if it affected anything I normally use to log in. He wasn’t. My passwords and autofill workflow continued to work as I expected, so there was no reason for me to reinstall the app. It was easy to remove.
YouTube Music
A music app I never opened
Music was another area where I already had a favorite setup, so it didn’t make sense to keep YouTube Music on the Pixel. I use Spotify for my daily listening, I save my playlists and I discover new music. Because of this, I rarely had a reason to open YouTube Music or use it for anything. At first I left it installed because it came with the phone, but while cleaning things out I realized I was just keeping an app I wasn’t using.
I removed it and continued to use Spotify as usual without changing anything else on my phone. I didn’t notice any impact on the apps and features I use every day. For me, uninstalling YouTube Music was an easy way to get rid of another app that had no place in my regular music workflow.
The faster Pixel starts with less drag
I didn’t need to make major changes to my Pixel to make it feel clean. Deleting a few apps I never used was enough to simplify my phone and reduce some unnecessary clutter. The biggest takeaway for me is that a preinstalled app doesn’t automatically deserve permanent space on my device. If I’m not using something, I prefer to delete it and focus my Pixel on the apps and features I need.
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