Let me start by saying I'm an avid user of my zenfone 2. It's a great
device and software. And I've eagerly shared my enjoyment of it with
friends.
However, as with Kid's Mode, I think you have made some important and
mistaken assumptions with Easy Mode. That is, you assumed that everyone
inherently wants/needs Easy Mode such that it is designed to turn on and
run at some level by default, and/or that as users we desire to have the
app on our device in the first place. This is very much identical to Kid's
Mode, which quite often turns on by default, despite my best efforts to
manage it with Auto Start Manager, or get it to stop by myself force
closing it.
The reality is that there are many of us as users who have no need for
either of these two apps, nor desire to even engage with them in our user
experience. I'm a fairly accomplished android user. I don't want, don't
need, and would prefer not to see Easy Mode on my device. I would like to
install it. I can't. The most I can do is get rid of updates. But the basic
app still lurks on my phone. Similarly, I don't have and won't be having
children in the future, nor do I even spend much time around children (much
less hand my phone over to them), so I don't want, don't need, and prefer
not to see Kid's Mode on my phone. And with both of these apps, I'm not
even allowed to disable them through the system settings. Really folks? Do
you hold us in such low regard as users that you can't allow us as adults
to disable two apps, the use of which is highly dependent upon a person's
individual life situation? This seems so simple and so obvious, that I
regret the need to have to call it out. But it's difficult to conclude
otherwise.
Don't misunderstand: The apps are fine for those who want and need them.
But they don't need to be a fundamental part of every user's device. You
could have and should make them so that users can decide what they need and
uninstall not just their updates but the entire apps if they so choose.
A sophisticated, customer-focused company like Asus should not base its
products on the completely incorrect assumptions that every adult has, or
is around, children, nor that each user is too unsophisticated to know how
to manage their own android experience. Getting clear about that kind of
unwanted, wrong bias is important for a world class firm like Asus to make
truly world class products.
Thanks, as always, for listening.
Kevin T McIntyre, PhD