How to delete default Apple apps from the iPhone in iOS 10

Apple is finally looking to rid itself of iOS's biggest bugbear by allowing users to delete stock iPhone apps. The upcoming iOS 10 update will bring the ability to uninstall applications such as Stocks and Compass, which come pre-installed on Apple's smartphones.

Historically, Apple devices have come with a handful of built-in apps that are impossible to delete. These apps take up precious storage space, making it particularly irksome for someone who has no use for an Apple Watch or Podcasts app but might want to download a third-party application they'll actually find useful.

The iOS 9.3 beta brought with it a workaround of sorts by allowing users to hide stock apps from the home screen. However, this required paying £79 ($112) to register as a developer first, and even then it didn't allow them to delete the apps completely, making it a really quite unviable solution.

With iOS 10 however, you can now remove built-in apps entirely. To do so, just touch and hold the app icon until it juggles, tap the X, then hit Remove. Press the home button to finish.

This process can be performed on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Be warned, when you remove a built-in app from your Home screen, you also remove any related user data and configuration files. This can affect things like related system functions or information on your Apple Watch; if you try to remove the Watch app from an iPhone that's paired with an Apple Watch, you will be told to unpair your Apple Watch before you can remove the app. Also, bear in mind that should you choose to remove the Music app, you won't be able to use it with CarPlay. The same goes for Podcasts.

The iPhone comes with 32 pre-istalled apps, of which 23 can now be deleted. You can find the full list of removable applications on Apple's support page.

Apple announced iOS 10 during WWDC 2016 on 13 June. The update will be rolled out to users this autumn.