Do I need specific Google Apps?

Eater Sundae · 11-05-2016, 15:44

I have a Huawei Y300, a pretty basic smartphone, running Android 4.1.1.

I have pretty basic demands:
Phone,
Texts,
Calendar,
Sat Nav (I use Here Maps)
Minor web browsing (I use Chrome & Google search engine),
Downloading of games, antivirus etc from the Play store,
Camera, (but I don't need to store many photos as I'm happy to copy over to laptop via usb on a regular basis),
A few games - Guess the Movie, Wordbrain etc, ie nothing particularly demanding.
I do not listen to music or read books on the phone.

My problem is that the built in memory is only 4 GB, and much of this is taken up with the operating system. I've put what I can onto an SD Card, but the space available is still inadequate. If I want to download a game, I usually have to delete all the others, and even then sometimes there is still not enough room.

I was therefore wondering if I could free up some more space by removing some of the built in Google Apps that I don't need. However I'm not sure what I can safely delete. My phone is rooted (via King Root), which I believe it needs to be to remove these.

The list is as follows:
Antivirus - which I intend to keep
Chrome - which I intend to keep
Drive - Can I delete this?
Google App - which I presume I should keep
Google keyboard - which I presume I should keep
Google Play Books - Can I delete this? What does it do?
Google Play Games - Can I delete this? What does it do?
Google Play Movies - Can I delete this? What does it do?
Google Play Music - Can I delete this? What does it do?
Google Play Services - Can I delete this? What does it do?
Google Play Store -which I intend to keep
Google+ - Can I delete this? What does it do?
You Tube - Which I intend to keep.

My main confusion is that I don't know how all the different Apps link together. Other than "Play Store", why would I need the other "Play Xxxx" Apps?

I also use a Hudl2 tablet. I wouldn't mind if I lost the current Google integration between the two. I wouldn't mind if I lost the ability to see up to date emails on the phone - but I'm not sure which Google App manages all that.

Does anyone know a good online resourse which would answer all these points for me, so that I can go ahead and safely remove anything that I don't really need, to make the phone easier to use.

Thanks.

Denco1 · 11-05-2016, 16:13

Whatever you do, don't uninstall Google Play Services. That is the main framework for google apps, without that Google Play wouldn't even function. Other than that you can't go wrong really. You can always reinstall the Google apps though Google Play if you change your mind in the future or something doesn't function as you wish.
Drive is for cloud storage, ie saving documents online.
Google App is for integrated search, or Google Now.
Google keyboard is a keyboard, although if you already have a preinstalled keyboard from Huawei you may uninstall the Google keyboard.
Google Books, Movies, and Music are all pretty self explanatory.
Google Play Games is required for some games to function, provides online leadership boards and multiplayer etc.
Google+ is Google's social network.

Eater Sundae · 11-05-2016, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denco1

Whatever you do, don't uninstall Google Play Services. That is the main framework for google apps, without that Google Play wouldn't even function. Other than that you can't go wrong really. You can always reinstall the Google apps though Google Play if you change your mind in the future or something doesn't function as you wish.
Drive is for cloud storage, ie saving documents online.
Google App is for integrated search, or Google Now.
Google keyboard is a keyboard, although if you already have a preinstalled keyboard from Huawei you may uninstall the Google keyboard.
Google Books, Movies, and Music are all pretty self explanatory.
Google Play Games is required for some games to function, provides online leadership boards and multiplayer etc.
Google+ is Google's social network.

Thanks for that. Sorry for being dumb, but exactly what do Google Books, Movies and Music actually do? Are they to do with storing different types of media, or playing it. For example, if I download a pdf or other document, would I need something like Google Books to read it?

Denco1 · 11-05-2016, 17:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eater Sundae

Thanks for that. Sorry for being dumb, but exactly what do Google Books, Movies and Music actually do? Are they to do with storing different types of media, or playing it. For example, if I download a pdf or other document, would I need something like Google Books to read it?

Google Books is for buying and opening eBooks, you will need Google Drive to open PDFs or other documents.
Google Movies is for purchasing movies, it is not needed to play video files.
Google Music is a music subscription service, but can also play downloaded music files.

Eater Sundae · 11-05-2016, 19:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denco1

Google Books is for buying and opening eBooks, you will need Google Drive to open PDFs or other documents.
Google Movies is for purchasing movies, it is not needed to play video files.
Google Music is a music subscription service, but can also play downloaded music files.

That's great, thanks.

11-05-2016, 15:44	#1
Eater Sundae Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 8,674	Do I need specific Google Apps? I have a Huawei Y300, a pretty basic smartphone, running Android 4.1.1. I have pretty basic demands: Phone, Texts, Calendar, Sat Nav (I use Here Maps) Minor web browsing (I use Chrome & Google search engine), Downloading of games, antivirus etc from the Play store, Camera, (but I don't need to store many photos as I'm happy to copy over to laptop via usb on a regular basis), A few games - Guess the Movie, Wordbrain etc, ie nothing particularly demanding. I do not listen to music or read books on the phone. My problem is that the built in memory is only 4 GB, and much of this is taken up with the operating system. I've put what I can onto an SD Card, but the space available is still inadequate. If I want to download a game, I usually have to delete all the others, and even then sometimes there is still not enough room. I was therefore wondering if I could free up some more space by removing some of the built in Google Apps that I don't need. However I'm not sure what I can safely delete. My phone is rooted (via King Root), which I believe it needs to be to remove these. The list is as follows: Antivirus - which I intend to keep Chrome - which I intend to keep Drive - Can I delete this? Google App - which I presume I should keep Google keyboard - which I presume I should keep Google Play Books - Can I delete this? What does it do? Google Play Games - Can I delete this? What does it do? Google Play Movies - Can I delete this? What does it do? Google Play Music - Can I delete this? What does it do? Google Play Services - Can I delete this? What does it do? Google Play Store -which I intend to keep Google+ - Can I delete this? What does it do? You Tube - Which I intend to keep. My main confusion is that I don't know how all the different Apps link together. Other than "Play Store", why would I need the other "Play Xxxx" Apps? I also use a Hudl2 tablet. I wouldn't mind if I lost the current Google integration between the two. I wouldn't mind if I lost the ability to see up to date emails on the phone - but I'm not sure which Google App manages all that. Does anyone know a good online resourse which would answer all these points for me, so that I can go ahead and safely remove anything that I don't really need, to make the phone easier to use. Thanks.

11-05-2016, 16:13	#2
Denco1 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 983	Whatever you do, don't uninstall Google Play Services. That is the main framework for google apps, without that Google Play wouldn't even function. Other than that you can't go wrong really. You can always reinstall the Google apps though Google Play if you change your mind in the future or something doesn't function as you wish. Drive is for cloud storage, ie saving documents online. Google App is for integrated search, or Google Now. Google keyboard is a keyboard, although if you already have a preinstalled keyboard from Huawei you may uninstall the Google keyboard. Google Books, Movies, and Music are all pretty self explanatory. Google Play Games is required for some games to function, provides online leadership boards and multiplayer etc. Google+ is Google's social network.

11-05-2016, 17:05	#3
Eater Sundae Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 8,674	Quote: Originally Posted by Denco1 Whatever you do, don't uninstall Google Play Services. That is the main framework for google apps, without that Google Play wouldn't even function. Other than that you can't go wrong really. You can always reinstall the Google apps though Google Play if you change your mind in the future or something doesn't function as you wish. Drive is for cloud storage, ie saving documents online. Google App is for integrated search, or Google Now. Google keyboard is a keyboard, although if you already have a preinstalled keyboard from Huawei you may uninstall the Google keyboard. Google Books, Movies, and Music are all pretty self explanatory. Google Play Games is required for some games to function, provides online leadership boards and multiplayer etc. Google+ is Google's social network. Thanks for that. Sorry for being dumb, but exactly what do Google Books, Movies and Music actually do? Are they to do with storing different types of media, or playing it. For example, if I download a pdf or other document, would I need something like Google Books to read it?

11-05-2016, 17:20	#4
Denco1 Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 983	Quote: Originally Posted by Eater Sundae Thanks for that. Sorry for being dumb, but exactly what do Google Books, Movies and Music actually do? Are they to do with storing different types of media, or playing it. For example, if I download a pdf or other document, would I need something like Google Books to read it? Google Books is for buying and opening eBooks, you will need Google Drive to open PDFs or other documents. Google Movies is for purchasing movies, it is not needed to play video files. Google Music is a music subscription service, but can also play downloaded music files.

11-05-2016, 19:48	#5
Eater Sundae Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 8,674	Quote: Originally Posted by Denco1 Google Books is for buying and opening eBooks, you will need Google Drive to open PDFs or other documents. Google Movies is for purchasing movies, it is not needed to play video files. Google Music is a music subscription service, but can also play downloaded music files. That's great, thanks.

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Do I need specific Google Apps?