OnePlus reportedly said that the soft preload on the OnePlus 12 was an error that occurred during testing.

The OnePlus 12 and OnePlus Open are the Chinese smartphone maker’s top-end devices. Now, users of these phones are complaining that the phones are suggesting to install “bloatware” apps. One user claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that in India, OnePlus is installing up to four additional third-party apps on the OnePlus 12 during the device’s setup process. These unwanted apps appear under the “From OnePlus” header on the “Check for additional apps” screen during setup. The issue has since been resolved by the company.

X user Gauraang Arora spotted a new “Check for additional apps” screen that appears during the setup process of the OnePlus 12. The screen has four Google Play apps selected by default: LinkedIn, Policybazaar, Block Blast and Candy Crush Saga. The apps are found under a header that reads “From OnePlus.”

Android Authority recently tested the setup process in three regions and found that the Indian version of the OnePlus 12 running the latest Oxygen OS 14.0.0.610 build has four apps pre-selected during setup. The US is reported to offer one third-party app, while the EU is not offered any pre-selected apps. Users can opt out of installing the listed apps, which are selected by default, but this could mean skipping the setup process and pushing bloatware onto your device.

Additionally, the publication discovered that there are three more Meta apps pre-installed on the OnePlus Open: Meta App Installer, Meta App Manager, and Meta Services. All these Meta apps were previously reported to have been spotted on the OnePlus 8 series, and the brand had received criticism for this as these apps could not be easily uninstalled from the device.

OnePlus has reportedly addressed the issue, calling it a mistake: “The soft preload on the OnePlus 12 was an error that occurred during testing and was fixed on May 6. The OnePlus 12 does not come preloaded with these apps and will continue to keep the phone light, fast and smooth,” OnePlus told Android Authority.

The company added that OxygenOS is free of any bloatware, but acknowledged that two apps — Instagram and Agoda — came pre-installed on the OnePlus Nord CE 4. It also said that apps are easy to remove or uninstall, and that the company works closely with app developers to improve the performance of OnePlus devices.

Prominent X tipster 1NormalUsername has suggested that the latest OxygenOS version will bring even more bloatware to the OnePlus 12. Third-party apps like Fitbit, Bubble Pop, Facebook, Amazon, Amazon Music, Amazon Prime Video, Zomato, Agoda, Swiggy, etc. may come pre-installed or appear as APK shortcuts.

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