"Cape Town, South Africa - August 23, 2011: Mail icon on an iphone 4, manufactured by Apple"
The tech giant packs its gadgets with software which you will soon be able to ditch forever, according to rumours (Image: Getty)

The iPhone comes stuffed with 38 apps that allow you to do everything from checking stocks to sending emails.

Apple’s designers are at the very top of their game, so many users don’t even think about using rival apps and happily use the default ones.

But some people are desperate to free up their phone and remove the ‘bloatware’ which comes preinstalled on their device.

Now the tech giant is rumoured to be planning a huge update which will allow people to choose other companies’ software to serve as their default apps.

Apple has been criticised for giving its own apps such a prominent place on its platforms, rather than giving third-party software its place in the sun.

There is a logic to this strategy because Apple can keep a tighter control on its own apps and make sure they work properly at all times.

Its devices have tended to follow a ‘walled garden’ approach, which means they are limited in what they can do compared to a PC or Android phone. Many people are happy with this approach because it means apps can be installed easily and just work.

Yet it limits the freedom available to users, who are often pushed towards using Apple’s apps.

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Apple is now considering allowing users to choose third-party web browser and mail software as their default mobile app, Bloomberg reported.

Default apps are the ones which automatically perform tasks so that, for instance, if you click on a web link in a text message it will open up in Safari.

You can delete Apple’s Mail and Safari apps from your iPhone, but the update will take this one step further by allowing different apps to be your default services.

It will also open up the HomePod speaker so that other companies can make apps for it.

Currently, you can stream music using Spotify to a HomePod using an iPhone, but you can’t use voice commands to play Spotify directly on the speaker itself.

This means the HomePod is great for Apple Music subscribers, but a bit of a faff for Spotify fans.

Apple is expected to introduce the new options in iOS 14, which will be launched in beta in a few month’s time and rolled out to everyone in September.