Apple Yanks YouTube from iOS; What Other Apps Deserve the Boot?

Apple announced earlier this week that it’s pushed the eject button on Google’s YouTube app. Starting with the release of iOS 6, YouTube will no longer be pre-installed on iDevices.

Apple’s trigger finger has been a bit itchy lately. The company also said that with iOS 6, it is swapping out Google Maps with its own navigation app. (See my post How Apple’s iOS Maps App Might Steer You Wrong for more details.)

All this got me thinking about the native iOS apps I’d like to remove from my iPhone. Apple doesn’t let iPhone user delete native apps, so I realize this is just wishful thinking. Still, here goes nothing:

* Weather. The iOS Weather app isn’t terrible—it’s just terribly basic. You only get a six-day forecast, unlike The Weather Channel’s app for iPhone and iPad, which predicts the next 10 days’ weather. Also, the weather icons in Apple’s Weather app sometimes tell only part of the story. Example: During my recent trip to Charleston, S.C., Apple’s Weather app showed a thunderstorm icon every day. But there was only a slight chance of thunderstorms each day—and no such storm actually materialized. For these and other reasons, there’s a 100 percent chance that I won’t be using Apple’s Weather app on a regular basis.

* Stocks. Roller coasters make me queasy. Therefore, I avoid constantly monitoring my stocks during this up-and-down economy. So why should I have to give space to Apple’s OK-but-nothing-special Stocks app? It’s time to ring the closing bell on this one, too.

* Game Center. I’ll be honest with you: I have zero interest in playing games on my iPhone or iPad. And even if I were interested, the titles Game Center recommends—such as Fruit Ninja and Pick-Up Sticks—wouldn’t interest me anyway. Game over, Game Center.

On the flip side, if I were appointed Apple’s Czar of Native iOS Apps, I’d beef up Apple’s Voice Memos app, among other things. It’s fine but could have more robust features, such as the ability to record iPhone calls, like Retronyms’s $1 Recorder).

Your turn. Which native iOS apps would you delete, and why? Which apps do you think should be native to iOS but aren’t?