Forget PCs. The Real Bloatware Problem is on Android - WIRED

Bloatware is a bigger headache on Android phones than it is on PCs for multiple reasons, says Irfan Asrar, a researcher with mobile security company Appthority. “Not only is it harder to remove (every time you do a factory reset it will come back), but it’s costing you resources such as data usage and battery drainage as well as pushing the boundaries on privacy,”

Even my HTC One M8, with one of the better Android skins and T-Mobile, the carrier that typically has the least bloatware on their phones, the out-of-the-box experience on that phone was not good. I was getting notifications all the time about virus checks and "suggested apps" I should totally check out. I also had non-removable banners from my notification tray that "helpfully" showed me how much of my unlimited data I had used for the month. Yay.

One of my favorite things about the iPhone is that an iPhone is an iPhone is an iPhone. Outside of the carrier logo in the status bar, there is no way to tell which carrier your phone is tied to. It's a little thing, but it's amazing how few phones are like this.