Apple urges iPhone owners to never quit apps as it has major downside – with a single exception
APPLE says making a habit of quitting your apps isn’t a good idea – and there’s only one good reason to do so.
Many people think quitting apps (by swiping them away in the carousel) saves battery life.
But contrary to popular belief, it can actually make your iPhone battery life worse.
Officially, the only time that you should be quitting apps is when they’re not working properly.
There’s no need to go into your app carousel multiple times a day and keep it empty by swiping them all away.
In one memo, Apple notes: “If an app won’t respond or seems frozen, you can close it, then open it again.
“You should close an app only if it’s unresponsive.”
And a separate memo sees Apple state: “If an app isn’t responding, you can quit it and then reopen it to try and resolve the issue.
“Typically, there’s no reason to quit an app; quitting it doesn’t save battery power, for example.”
It’s an easy mistake to make.
When you swipe up into your app carousel, seeing it busy and full of apps can feel worrying.
But it’s better to leave those apps there so that they can be re-opened as efficiently as possible when you need them.
Having them remain in your app carousel won’t put extra strain on your battery.
I-SAVE!
In a Reddit thread about the habit, one user wrote: “iOS developer here: iOS is really tight in giving any resources to apps that are in background.
“After roughly 30 seconds of going to background app doesn’t consume anything (unless there is some background fetch, but that still is limited).
“So in a nutshell having app in background is same as having it closed. Except you get to keep state of it to some extent.”
Another said: “So long as the app is behaving ‘leaving it open’ (which is not really how it works anyway) means iOS doesn’t have to spend processor cycles loading the app again and running its startup routines.”
And one replied: “Good luck convincing serial app-closers that this is the case.
“They’re basically quitting and shutting their apps down, and they have to be completely reloaded each time they open the app.
Why do batteries get worse over time?
Here's what you need to know...
- Most gadgets run on lithium-ion batteries
- Over time, the amount of charge this type of battery can hold gets smaller
- That means you need to charge your device more often because they hold less charge
- Batteries have two electrode points – the cathode and the anode
- To charge a battery, the ions inside the battery are forced from the cathode to the anode
- When you use a battery, it moves in the reverse direction
- This process wears away at the structure of the anode, reducing its ability to function correctly
- But the process also builds up a kind of salt on the cathode when charging
- As this build-up grows, the battery will accept less charge over time
- It’s estimated that between 500 and 1,000 full charge-cycles will reduce a battery’s maximum capacity by roughly 20%
“It’s like the difference between shutting your computer down and reloading whenever you’re done with it, rather than letting it sleep.”
BAD BATTERY?
If your iPhone battery is getting worse, it could be for a whole host of other reasons.
Smartphone batteries naturally degrade over time, and will hold increasingly less charge compared to when they were new.
You can check your Battery Health by going into Settings > Battery, including its current Maximum Capacity.
If this number has dropped below 80% then it may be worth investing in a battery replacement.
Apple sells these for (typically) less than £100 / $100 depending on your iPhone model.
It can return your iPhone’s maximum battery capacity to a like-new condition, and even improve general performance too.
This is a cheaper option than fully upgrading your iPhone model – so consider trying a battery replacement before forking out for the latest Apple smartphone.