Apple: no more 'free memory' apps?!

[mavis]

You've GOT to be joking. Now the only way to free memory is to reboot (http://bjango.com/help/istat/freememory/)? WTF are they smoking in Cupertino?! :mad:

[-aggie-]

Well, lucky I already have my free memory app installed then.

[mkrishnan]

You've GOT to be joking. Now the only way to free memory is to reboot (http://bjango.com/help/istat/freememory/)? WTF are they smoking in Cupertino?! :mad:

We can always hope against hope that this issue will actually be resolved in the next firmware? Erm... :o

[mavis]

We can always hope against hope that this issue will actually be resolved in the next firmware? Erm... :o
What, you mean they'll be able to add a decent amount of RAM to pre-3GS iPhones via firmware? Sounds great! ;)

[mkrishnan]

What, you mean they'll be able to add a decent amount of RAM to pre-3GS iPhones via firmware? Sounds great! ;)

Haha, wouldn't that be nice. I'm open to a factory unlocked, no-contract 3GS at $299 also. :D I just mean the memory management... if an app works when the phone is freshly booted, the OS ought to be able to get free memory back to a point where the app is launchable after you've been using the phone.

[mavis]

Haha, wouldn't that be nice. I'm open to a factory unlocked, no-contract 3GS at $299 also. :D I just mean the memory management... if an app works when the phone is freshly booted, the OS ought to be able to get free memory back to a point where the app is launchable after you've been using the phone.There it is. And since this has NEVER actually worked, I find it hard to believe that it will be fixed in 3.1 ... Although I'd love to be wrong. :)

[Prospekt]

Well this explains why I couldn't find the free memory option :(

[thegoldenmackid]

I sorta agree that they didn't work as effectively.

[mkrishnan]

There it is. And since this has NEVER actually worked, I find it hard to believe that it will be fixed in 3.1 ... Although I'd love to be wrong. :)

Yeah, I recognize that... OTOH, if an SDK app can do it, all the more reason there's no good reason why the OS can't do it. Although who knows what Apple's reasoning is.

[alent1234]

Apple thinks its too confusing to know these things. just like they never tell you the CPU model number they ship and you have to guess

[spillproof]

A step closer to real multitasking?

[xanadeath]

My favorite memory freeing application, iStat, was just updated. The update removes the application's ability to kill backround processes. Looking further into it, I learneed that apple has actually been requesting that developers either remove this functionality from their applications in an update, or they remove their application from the app store. What could this mean? Does apple simply not want developers tampering with this stuff, or do you think apple plans to add this functionality to the iPhone OS? Say what you think below....... I've been hoping apple would add something like this. I'm outraged though because I purchased iStat for the sole purpose of freeing up memory. That update adds some neat new features, but removes the ability to free memory. Do you think this is wrong..... That we deserve refunds? Anyway..... Yah......

Have a nice evening

Xanadeath

[converge]

"System Activity Monitor with Free Memory" app is still available.

[FearlessFreep]

iStat was/is hands-down the best memory freeing application in the App Store. I'd tried others but it consistently keeps my phone running without crashes. A must-have when running large gaems.

I will never update it now so I can keep the memory clearing functions. Thank goodness I read this thread first.

[strike1555]

Ding! Another point to jailbreak.

[Che Castro]

iStat was/is hands-down the best memory freeing application in the App Store.

better then memoryinfo?

[wingsabr]

Ding! Another point to jailbreak.

sbsettings, nuff said. :apple::):apple:

[labman]

iStat was/is hands-down the best memory freeing application in the App Store. I'd tried others but it consistently keeps my phone running without crashes. A must-have when running large gaems.

I will never update it now so I can keep the memory clearing functions. Thank goodness I read this thread first.

I have tried a few Istat is the best I have found. it's still there I'd get it $1.99 this could mean no further updates though. Apple is really starting to piss me off with this stuff.

[intrepid00]

They proably want it out because it causes a ton of report crash process to run. Which ruins their bug collecting.

[mavis]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS (White, 32GB): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

Ding! Another point to jailbreak.

Exactly. You know, it's almost as though Apple is encouraging people to JB with these continued shenanigans. The whole Google Voice fiasco, the lack of backgrounding, no quick access to commonly used toggles (wifi, location services, etc), no freaking WALLPAPER, and now this. It's like they want us to JB.

[Highland]

"System Activity Monitor with Free Memory" app is still available.
Won't be for long.

[Habakuk]

I will never update it now so I can keep the memory clearing functions. Thank goodness I read this thread first.

Too late for me :-(

I've downloaded the update but NOT SYNCHRONIZED the device yet -- so I have still the "Free Memory"-button. Is there any way to delete (or disable) this particular update in iTunes before the next sync?

Thx in advance for any hint!

[Highland]

I've downloaded the update but NOT SYNCHRONIZED the device yet -- so I have still the "Free Memory"-button. Is there any way to delete (or disable) this particular update in iTunes before the next sync?
Deleting the app from iTunes should stop the new version from being synced.

This can be done by right or control-clicking on the app and choosing "Delete" (I think that's the option, not at my iPhone's Mac at the moment).

[LostLogik]

And this is why I love forums. Thanks for the headsup. I won't upgrade my copy of iStat either, though that means I'll have to live with a badge count on my AppStore icon.

Interestingly enough, the upgrade isn't showing yet.

[Habakuk]

Deleting the app from iTunes should stop the new version from being synced.

This can be done by right or control-clicking on the app and choosing "Delete" (I think that's the option, not at my iPhone's Mac at the moment).

Yes there is such an option in the iTunes' Library ("Mediathek" in German-language iTunes). But don't mix it up with the "Programs" section in iTunes' "Devices - iPhone (name)" what would delete the app from the iPhone (that's really confusing btw).

Thanks, Highland. I'll wait a bit – maybe someone reinforce your hint.

BTW: Updated my blog with those "news" - see sig.

[Deano.uk]

i use a app called "FreeMemory" has to features, quick free and game mode... very good app... its a shame that apple are pulling the plug on them :(

[VulchR]

It sounds to me like there is a background process that Apple is trying to protect. Or perhaps they will release their own memory manager as part of an upcoming update (pardon me while I take a picture of the pig that just flew past my window...).

[FXT 1]

There's still an app in the UK App Store called "Memory Sweep" by Gary Fung. And it's free.

[fishmoose]

I thought about this since it happend, are there any chance that freeing memory can hurt the iPhone? And this is the reason they had to remove the apps doing so?

I updated istat anyway, great features in the new version and I still have free memory installed. But it's not as good as istat was.

[Habakuk]

There's still an app in the UK App Store called "Memory Sweep" by Gary Fung. And it's free.

Thank you, FXT 1! Available in Austrian App Store too (not tested yet).

[mgamber]

I'm guessing it finally dawned on Apple that approving such an app is an admission that the OS doesn't quite do what it's supposed to do. You know, the whole official reason why they don't allow multitasking and all the rest of that ************ that came out of Cupertino. Like everything else, paper covers rock and no one is any the wiser. Day late and a dollar short, as usual, and all the developers die a little inside, again.

[swindmill]

I've always preferred FreeMemory over iStat for this purpose, and I'll hang on to that unless Apple releases a similar function.

The iStat update is certainly welcome even without the memory freeing ability.

[BlueRazor2]

i use a app called "FreeMemory" has to features, quick free and game mode... very good app... its a shame that apple are pulling the plug on them :(

That was one of my favorite apps that I have downloaded. I'm glad that I still have it on my phone for now. I do not understand why apple would do this since these apps prevent people from having to reboot their phone if they want to clear memory.

[mkrishnan]

Thank you, FXT 1! Available in Austrian App Store too (not tested yet).

Thanks from me, too. :) This app is still in the US store, too. Apparently it refuses to work in the absence of a wifi connection or something? It's only able to come up with about 30MB of memory on the original iPhone, but it is free and still available. In the reviews, some users complain that the app tries to harass them to buy another fingerprinting app from the author if there's no wifi, but I couldn't replicate this (in a few tries, at least).

A few reviews also claim that the app interfered with other software like navi software -- I was actually wondering if, right, wrong, or indifferent, there actually are some side effects to using these apps with certain other apps that were part of the real reason for pulling them.

I still think Apple should fix it, and perhaps also provide a memory sweeping API that intensive programs can call on launch.

[jlseattle]

Hi, I use iStat for the iPhone and especially the free memory functionality. The new update for iStat out today has removed this functionality with a note that it was at Apple's request. This functionality is vital for my phone to run efficiently. When my phone becomes sluggish I free the memory with the app. As soon as I do this my phone works great. I have narrowed the issue down to bad memory management in some 3rd party apps from the app store. When I launch those apps and close them I still see the memory they used not freed. Any ideas why Apple has made this request? I'm not updating because I use the free memory functionality all the time.

[Tallest Skil]

Because Apple told them to. There's a thread on this already; if you can find it, its posters will be able to tell you more.

[jlseattle]

Because Apple told them to. There's a thread on this already; if you can find it, its posters will be able to tell you more.

Really?! Really?! Why?

[mkrishnan]

Really?! Really?! Why?

If you read the thread, which I've now merged you into so you don't have to even search for it, you'll see that we don't know. :p

[Scooterman1]

Maybe it messes with some of the background Push functionality.
On the other hand, it makes it more profitable to Apple for people to upgrade some of the older phones to 32GB.

[jlseattle]

If you read the thread, which I've now merged you into so you don't have to even search for it, you'll see that we don't know. :p

Thank you! This is frustrating for me because I use this functionality so much.

[mkrishnan]

On the other hand, it makes it more profitable to Apple for people to upgrade some of the older phones to 32GB.

Does the 32GB iPhone 3GS have more (volatile) memory than the 16GB iPhone 3GS?

Thank you! This is frustrating for me because I use this functionality so much.

Yeah... for now, install one of the still momentarily available programs above and/or don't update iStat, sadly, are your options.... I actually didn't have any of these programs before, but I took the opportunity to get the free one mentioned above.

[-aggie-]

Does the 32GB iPhone 3GS have more (volatile) memory than the 16GB iPhone 3GS?



Yeah... for now, install one of the still momentarily available programs above and/or don't update iStat, sadly, are your options.... I actually didn't have any of these programs before, but I took the opportunity to get the free one mentioned above.

No, the 16 and 32 GB have the same amount of memory.

I use memory sweep, which is also free. IDK, if you can still get it, but I'm just throwing it out there as another option from the other free option mentioned above.

[aristobrat]

I thought apps were supposed to be 'sandboxed' so that they can't make any changes outside of their 'sandbox', except for contacts?

[mkrishnan]

I use memory sweep, which is also free. IDK, if you can still get it, but I'm just throwing it out there as another option from the other free option mentioned above.

That's the free one I just got. It was still in the US store as of a few minutes ago, and per the above reports, in the UK and Austrian ones as well.

[Rodimus Prime]

Look like apple yet again is sweeping another one of its problems under the rug. Lets face it apple shows that is does lots of underhanded stuff to make sure it looks good. The OS have a memory leak problem but apple does not want some one making an apple to clean it up. Apple does this because it means the app is covering up it OSX has a massive memory leak.

Makes you wonder if full version OSX has the same memory leak problem.

[mrmayor92]

i use a app called "FreeMemory" has to features, quick free and game mode... very good app... its a shame that apple are pulling the plug on them :(

thanks for the heads up though man!

[spyker3292]

I hate the free memory apps. :\

[STEVESKI07]

I use FreeMemory daily. I can not let Apple get rid of this app from me. Wasn't there some setting on the iPhone that blocks Apple from removing an app from your phone if they pull it from the AppStore? I remember hearing about it somewhere, but can't remember what it was.

[Small White Car]

Wasn't there some setting on the iPhone that blocks Apple from removing an app from your phone if they pull it from the AppStore?

Apple has never removed apps from phones and there is no indication that they'll do it here.

They have the option to do that, yes, but the press would be so bad you'd better believe they won't use it unless they REALLY have to.

I mean, people still have that old tethering app from last year and Apple never touched that one, so I doubt this kind of thing would qualify.

[psywzrd]

If any of you guys are interested in jailbreaking, there is an app (SBSetttings) that has a free memory function as well. The app does a lot more than that too (it's probably one of the top 5 jb apps), but I know a lot of people don't want to jailbreak. Just thought I'd put it out there for those of you that are sick of Apple controlling what you can and can't do with your phone. I understand why some people don't want to jailbreak, but it's amazing how much more the iphone is capable of doing once you break out of Apple's constraints

[labman]

I just did the update for IStat and the free memory option is now gone. thank you Apple I now lost one of my favorite Apps. At least why I bought it. Just want to get the word out!

[chriswitt]

I just did the update for IStat and the free memory option is now gone. thank you Apple I now lost one of my favorite Apps. At least why I bought it. Just want to get the word out!

Grab it out of the trash, throw out the "upgraded" one, and reinstall the old. Fixed!

[Warbrain]

Yea, sucks that Apple apprently decided that we shouldn't be able to free up memory without cycling the phone.

From Bjango:


Where did ‘Free Memory’ go?

iStat’s Free Memory function was removed at Apple’s request.

This decision was completely out of our hands. Please note that all other apps with Free Memory appear to have been removed or updated without their Free Memory function too.

This was not taken lightly—we examined our choices, taking a lot of public feedback on board. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and we do not plan to remove any other features from iStat.

If you choose (and you haven’t already updated), you can continue to run iStat version 1.0. You’ll miss out on new features, but you’ll get to keep the Free Memory feature.

We are very committed to ensuring iStat is the best iPhone and iPod Touch monitoring tool. Free Memory has been removed, but a lot of other useful features will be added in its place.


http://bjango.com/help/istat/freememory/

Other apps have been removed as well.

[Warbrain]

Grab it out of the trash, throw out the "upgraded" one, and reinstall the old. Fixed!

I never thought about it. Might then even be possible to keep both...maybe, maybe not.

Probably not.

[jessica.]

While it is all over the net, I ponder the right to ask for a refund if the app is no longer functioning as advertised. I saw this with SongText. I bought it and weeks later the dev pulled it over some purported conspiracy with the MPAA and such. It was stupid. He said he had no moral obligation to refund, I guess in some ways I see that but if I bought a memory app I'd be pissed.

[labman]

not sure though how I am going to keep it is there any way to flag it not to update? this is the 1st time I don't want a app to update. other features are nice but not as nice as freeing my Memory. ;)

[Warbrain]

This just really ticks me off it really is one of my favorite apps

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f20/labman48076/IMG_0272.png
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f20/labman48076/IMG_0273.png

You know, I did quote this above :P

[labman]

You know, I did quote this above :P

I saw it after I posted it lol that's why I just edited and deleted it! ;)

[Looon]

I've never used one personally. Every time I use the free memory feature from SBSettings it always seems to go back down to what it was before almost immediately after going up. Could just be my phone though, I was on a 2g

[Highland]

I thought apps were supposed to be 'sandboxed' so that they can't make any changes outside of their 'sandbox', except for contacts?
iStat didn't go outside its sandbox (App Store apps can't).

I never thought about it. Might then even be possible to keep both...maybe, maybe not.

Probably not.
I don't think you'll be able to, unfortunately.

In other news, we'll keep on adding other features to iStat. So all is not lost—the app still has a bright future.

[Battlefield Fan]

this is just insane. apple needs to back off.

[stuffradio]

While it is all over the net, I ponder the right to ask for a refund if the app is no longer functioning as advertised. I saw this with SongText. I bought it and weeks later the dev pulled it over some purported conspiracy with the MPAA and such. It was stupid. He said he had no moral obligation to refund, I guess in some ways I see that but if I bought a memory app I'd be pissed.

Apple should issue the refund, not the developer.

[daihard]

Maybe it messes with some of the background Push functionality.
On the other hand, it makes it more profitable to Apple for people to upgrade some of the older phones to 32GB.

The memory in question here is RAM, not SSD (permanent storage space).

Any decent OS should be able to protect its own processes from user-level operations. Any decent OS should also be able to assign a block of memory for its own use so no user applications could mess with it.

And I hope the iPhone OS is a decent OS...

[Highland]

Want iStat 1.0 back?

Here's how (Time Machine required). (http://bjango.com/help/istat/freememory/)

[admanimal]

The memory in question here is RAM, not SSD (permanent storage space).

Any decent OS should be able to protect its own processes from user-level operations. Any decent OS should also be able to assign a block of memory for its own use so no user applications could mess with it.

And I hope the iPhone OS is a decent OS...

Obviously Apple could have had iPhone OS work this way if they wanted it to - and I'm sure it does in fact work this way for truly essential processes - but the iPhone is not a desktop computer with gigabytes of RAM. Apple's approach is to try to keep Safari, etc. in RAM as long as possible so that they always re-launch as quickly as possible. However, if one particular app is facing a critically low memory situation, Apple is polite and will kill its own apps to try to keep the foreground app alive.

The free memory apps work by flooding RAM with random data until there is so little free memory left that Apple politely kills its own apps, freeing their memory. Then the free memory app frees all of the garbage data it puts in RAM and voila, most of your RAM is free.

I am surprised that Apple didn't pull these apps a long time ago seeing how they undermine Apple's desire to keep Safari, etc. in RAM unless it's absolutely necessary not to.

[andrew0122]

Apple has never removed apps from phones and there is no indication that they'll do it here.

They have the option to do that, yes, but the press would be so bad you'd better believe they won't use it unless they REALLY have to.

I mean, people still have that old tethering app from last year and Apple never touched that one, so I doubt this kind of thing would qualify.

The only real problem is that Apple has always wanted it iPhone to be tether-able. From my understanding Apple has grown tired of AT$T and their lack of a network to support such a phone as the iPhone. Just look at how long is has taken AT&T to support MMS with the iPhone. OH WAIT THEY STILL DON'T SUPPORT MMS. I was told sometime in August. . . Still waiting with only another 3 days left. . . Not a huge deal, but I do think that we will eventually see it with the 3.1 update. (My money is on the iPod refresh date)

[daihard]

Obviously Apple could have had iPhone OS work this way if they wanted it to - and I'm sure it does in fact work this way for truly essential processes - but the iPhone is not a desktop computer with gigabytes of RAM. Apple's approach is to try to keep Safari, etc. in RAM as long as possible so that they always re-launch as quickly as possible. However, if one particular app is facing a critically low memory situation, Apple is polite and will kill its own apps to try to keep the foreground app alive.
I believe it has more to do with how mission-critical certain processes are than with where the OS is meant to be used (i.e. desktop, mobile, etc). If you think about it, 128MB of RAM is a LOT more than the top-of-the-line desktop computer even dreamt of 15 years ago.

IMO, processes like Safari and Mail aren't mission-critical as long as killing them does not lose the site history, messages, etc. That is why Apple can be polite enough to kill them if necessary. If they let the user force-quite them (which they do), then I don't see why they shouldn't let third-party apps do the same.

[Mr. Zorg]

Too late for me :-(

I've downloaded the update but NOT SYNCHRONIZED the device yet -- so I have still the "Free Memory"-button. Is there any way to delete (or disable) this particular update in iTunes before the next sync?

Thx in advance for any hint!
Go into your iTunes Library folder and then into "Mobile Applications/Previous Mobile Applications". The previous version should be in there. Delete the new version and drag that one back into your library. :)

[ltldrummerboy]

I contacted Apple to get a refund with the idea that I would just support iSlayer/Bjango with a PayPal donation. Apple said that I had owned the app for 60 days and that they would not issue me a refund.

[andrew0122]

This just means that I won't be updating iStat anytime soon. At least until I know what Apple's plans and reasoning for removing the process.

[longofest]

I am surprised that Apple didn't pull these apps a long time ago seeing how they undermine Apple's desire to keep Safari, etc. in RAM unless it's absolutely necessary not to.

one of the big issues remains that there is nothing in the SDK that prohibits the free mem apps to work like they do. The decision by apple appears quite arbitrary.

Let's not forget that people use the free memory feature of these programs for a reason: the iPhone OS doesn't always do as good of a job as it should of having enough memory free to launch apps or even to provide a stutterless UI. Maybe if apple would fix the OS to be better about that, people wouldn't be complaining as much about them forcing the removal of this functionality, but even that still doesn't explain their decision making process.

[Lazlow]

This is BS. The Free Memory app is awesome; I use it all the time when I notice that my iPhone is getting a little choppy, and it always works perfectly. I hardly use Safari, so I don't need it open 24/7 using up 24 MB of my phone's RAM. I really hope Apple doesn't break the functionality in 3.1; if so, it'll be time to re-install SBSettings.

Every little move like this from Apple is making an Android phone more and more likely to be my next phone...

[Watabou]

That's why I jailbroke. I don't need Apple telling me I can't free my memory. :D

[Eso]

iStat didn't go outside its sandbox (App Store apps can't).


I don't think you'll be able to, unfortunately.

In other news, we'll keep on adding other features to iStat. So all is not lost—the app still has a bright future.

I bought iStat specifically for the memory clearing function - without it I really feel entitled to a refund at Apple's expense. Let me know who needs to hear about this and they'll hear plenty from me.

This pisses me off.

[mavis]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS (White, 32GB): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

iStat didn't go outside its sandbox (App Store apps can't).


I don't think you'll be able to, unfortunately.

In other news, we'll keep on adding other features to iStat. So all is not lost—the app still has a bright future.

I bought iStat specifically for the memory clearing function - without it I really feel entitled to a refund at Apple's expense. Let me know who needs to hear about this and they'll hear plenty from me.

This pisses me off.

Actually, me too. I chose iStat over the other memory freeing apps because of the remote monitoring feature, but the reason I bought it was for the memory cleaner. That's it. I think a refund is in order, too.

[Eso]

I just filed a complaint (http://sanjose.bbb.org/ComplaintDetail.aspx?CompanyID=0000198239) with the Better Business Bureau. The FTC and FCC are next. I've had enough of these app store shenanigans; time to make my voice heard. I'll email my senator if I have to.

[iphones4evry1]

This is getting really ridiculous. For starters, the iPhone has WAAAAAAY insufficient RAM. The 3GS is much better, but the regular 3G is SIGNIFICANTLY INSUFFICIENT in the amount of RAM that it has. Consider loading a page in Safari and trying to scroll around the page at the same time. The RAM cannot keep up - it's insufficient. Yet, with the 3GS it works fine. So, because Apple had a deficiency in one of it's products, the public came up with a way to solve/patch the problem; by simply freeing the RAM. Now Apple says "you can't do that!!!!...because we say so!" Sounds way too much like Microsoft - they keep making Windows more and more bulky so that consumers have to buy a new PC everytime they come out with a new OS. So, is this Apple's way of forcing 3G users to buy new 3GS phones ? :mad:

In addition to that, I have been having problems with AT&T over the past two weeks. For the past 12 months, I have had excellent 3G coverage in my house, and now over the past 2 weeks, it has gone to crap. It's completely unreliable! :mad:
I keep getting this message on a bunch of Apps:

[paulbeattie87]

This poses a great question. What happens to already purchased applications.

Reading through the thread users purchases iStat for it's memory freeing functionality. Now that Apple have requested and subsequently got it removed surely users are now entitled to a refund from Apple? At the end of the day the functionality of the application has fundamentally changed from what was purchased.

By the same token you wouldn't take your car into a garage for them to downgrade your engine. Nor would you take your iMac to a Apple Store for them to fix and then remove some RAM.

If you ask me, I'm going to complain to Apple about this. If they want to run a ridiculous app store then so be it.

[RedTomato]

Another one that I haven't seen mentioned here: Memory Info. I use it for freeing up memory too, and only one crash in the last 3 months since I bought it.

After reading this thread, I checked for updates : none. Went to app store, and yes, it's been pulled. Now only Memory Info Lite is there, without the free memory functionality.

[ctdonath]

Considering HOW the memory is being freed, and that half the point of the AppStore approval process is weeding out ill-behaved code, I'm with Apple on this.
Bjango explains that the "free memory" feature accomplishes its task by allocating memory until the iPhone OS detects critically low memory levels and terminates the other background processes.
WTF? As an embedded systems developer, I find that, well, rude. Kinda like getting a nice quiet table at a restaurant by bussing in winos until the other legitimate customers leave, then vacating the winos.

If there's a memory management problem, fix the program that has the problem - don't write other programs that solve the problem by screaming at it until it goes away for a few minutes.

[ibwb]

Considering HOW the memory is being freed, and that half the point of the AppStore approval process is weeding out ill-behaved code, I'm with Apple on this.

WTF? As an embedded systems developer, I find that, well, rude. Kinda like getting a nice quiet table at a restaurant by bussing in winos until the other legitimate customers leave, then vacating the winos.

If there's a memory management problem, fix the program that has the problem - don't write other programs that solve the problem by screaming at it until it goes away for a few minutes.

Agreed. Most likely Apple plans changes to the memory management which would be severely disturbed by this rogueish application behavior.

[batchtaster]

Hmm. Mommy says not to climb up and touch the crystal, and the children cry that mommy's just being mean.

--
"Online Fandom Rule #1: If a situation is ever unclear, assume whatever it would take to drive you into a blind rage."

[FearlessFreep]

If there's a memory management problem, fix the program that has the problem - don't write other programs that solve the problem by screaming at it until it goes away for a few minutes.
The issue in this case though is it isn't a 'program' that has the problem, it's the OS. Safari is the biggest offender. Open it once and it'll sit there and hog all of the memory - even when you start another program that requires more memory. Hence the stuttering and slowness and subsequent crashing in many cases. Mobile safari is great, but it is a hog. The very fact that these memory- clearing applications were a hit is because the OS is flawed. If Apple's going to fix that, great. But I have my doubts.

[frozencarbonite]

System Activity Monitor 1.1 is still available in the app store. I just downloaded it and it still has the Free Memory option. Version 1.2 has no Free Memory option.

So if you want it, try to get it before it changes.

[RoboCop001]

The issue in this case though is it isn't a 'program' that has the problem, it's the OS. Safari is the biggest offender. Open it once and it'll sit there and hog all of the memory - even when you start another program that requires more memory. Hence the stuttering and slowness and subsequent crashing in many cases. Mobile safari is great, but it is a hog. The very fact that these memory- clearing applications were a hit is because the OS is flawed. If Apple's going to fix that, great. But I have my doubts.

I'm in agreement with Apple on this one.

Wasn't there a rumour of better memory management in 3.1?

They might just be preparing for that.

Either way. It doesn't seem proper (or safe?) to flood the memory until other apps quit.

[alent1234]

here is a tip for everyone

on Vista and Windows 7 you can find all the apps you downloaded

C:\Users\<myprofilename>\Music\iTunes\Mobile Applications

you will see all your apps there as .ipa files. you can copy them to another location and if you reinstall the OS on your computer or iphone you can just add them from iTunes without downloading them again

i'm not 100% sure but i think when you download an update it doesn't delete the old ipa file. i've seen multiple ones before for the same app. so if you updated and want the old one back then check this location

[labman]

I bought iStat specifically for the memory clearing function - without it I really feel entitled to a refund at Apple's expense. Let me know who needs to hear about this and they'll hear plenty from me.

This pisses me off.

I'm with you on this if Apple makes the Dev change the function of a app I bought then I deserve a refund period. if they do or not is another matter, but has nothing to do with 60 days. :rolleyes: they made the dev change the original purpose of the App. :mad: lmk how you do.

[psywzrd]

While it is all over the net, I ponder the right to ask for a refund if the app is no longer functioning as advertised. I saw this with SongText. I bought it and weeks later the dev pulled it over some purported conspiracy with the MPAA and such. It was stupid. He said he had no moral obligation to refund, I guess in some ways I see that but if I bought a memory app I'd be pissed.

I had SongText as well. I emailed Apple about it and they gave me a refund. I believe it was only $.99 but that's not the point - if these apps don't function as advertised after we buy them, we should be entitled to a refund.

I probably won't update my istat right away but I may do it eventually since I'm jailbroken anyway. Apple can't tell me what I can and can't do on my jailbroken phone and SBSettings seems to do a pretty good job of freeing up memory for me. I'm sure there are other apps on the jb side that do this as well.

[bigmc6000]

Am I the only one that just doesn't care about this? I've never used one and launch and re-launch apps day in and day out and end up restarting my phone maybe once every few days or so (it is a computer afterall). What's the huge problem with restarting? On a 3GS it takes like 1 min...

[iPhone 62S]

A good way to help this is to actually turn your phone off while you sleep. Forget the "it ruins your battery life!!!1!!!!eleven!!" stuff, because in my experience it's not even true.

[wlh99]

Freeing memory by allocating as much as you can until the device closes other programs is a pretty lousy way to do it (but maybe the only way for a devoloper) IMO.

Perhaps the reason Apple is having this feature removed is because they are implementing that feature elsewhere in the OS. It would make sense under settings to have a button that simply sent a didReciveMemoryWarning to all running apps. That would work better and safer than anything a devoloper could do in an app.

If this is the case apple did the right thing, but should be disclosing that's why.

[iSee]

Bjango explains that the "free memory" feature accomplishes its task by allocating memory until the iPhone OS detects critically low memory levels and terminates the other background processes.

^^^

This kind of hack is bad. The free memory function is relying on implementation details of the operating system -- details that, (1) they have no way of understanding fully, and (2) will surely change over time. That means this function currently has unintended consequences -- possibly quite bad ones -- and will likely in the future have additional bad consequences.

Abusing the critically low memory feature probably results in performance problems (its prematurely flushing caches), and may even lead to unnecessary data loss (what happens to open Safari pages with partially filled-in forms open?) and who knows what else -- both now and in the future.

After you've been in software development for a while you learn not to rely on side effects, undocumented behavior, etc. of any API. It inevitably leads to more problems than it solves -- and your users suffer the consequences.

I hate Apple's heavy-handedness in regard to iPhone apps, but they are probably in the right on this one. I wonder if this "free memory" function has *any* real value at all. It might just be a placebo button. After all, if the OS frees memory & closes background apps as needed -- which the free memory function is depending on -- then there's no need to ever do it preemptively.

[longofest]

I wonder if this "free memory" function has *any* real value at all. It might just be a placebo button. After all, if the OS frees memory & closes background apps as needed -- which the free memory function is depending on -- then there's no need to ever do it preemptively.

You may want to re-read the article and the thread. A lot of people use the feature exactly because the OS doesn't do a good enough job freeing memory automatically. There are numerous instances when you can't run a memory intensive application or the interface is running at a crawl when this feature is really handy. The only other alternative would be to selectively force-quit each persistent Apple application or reboot the device, both of which are time-intensive tasks.

[cellocello]

Considering HOW the memory is being freed, and that half the point of the AppStore approval process is weeding out ill-behaved code, I'm with Apple on this.

WTF? As an embedded systems developer, I find that, well, rude. Kinda like getting a nice quiet table at a restaurant by bussing in winos until the other legitimate customers leave, then vacating the winos.

If there's a memory management problem, fix the program that has the problem - don't write other programs that solve the problem by screaming at it until it goes away for a few minutes.

Yea, I have to agree with this as well.

Given that apple has clearly inteded for the user to not manage such things, and has structured the OS in such a way that this type of micro management isn't (shouldn't, anyway) be needed, I never saw the real draw to "free memory" apps in the first place.

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for free market and to for Devs to create and prosper from good, useful apps. But at the same time, I don't want the App Store to end up looking like download.com. And, not that any of these apps are, but we don't really need any snake oil salesman on the app store either - stuff for sale that's not actually needed.

[TitoC]

^^^

This kind of hack is bad. The free memory function is relying on implementation details of the operating system -- details that, (1) they have no way of understanding fully, and (2) will surely change over time. That means this function currently has unintended consequences -- possibly quite bad ones -- and will likely in the future have additional bad consequences.

Abusing the critically low memory feature probably results in performance problems (its prematurely flushing caches), and may even lead to unnecessary data loss (what happens to open Safari pages with partially filled-in forms open?) and who knows what else -- both now and in the future.

After you've been in software development for a while you learn not to rely on side effects, undocumented behavior, etc. of any API. It inevitably leads to more problems than it solves -- and your users suffer the consequences.

I hate Apple's heavy-handedness in regard to iPhone apps, but they are probably in the right on this one. I wonder if this "free memory" function has *any* real value at all. It might just be a placebo button. After all, if the OS frees memory & closes background apps as needed -- which the free memory function is depending on -- then there's no need to ever do it preemptively.

While this is true and you make a valid point in the case of ever-evolving Operating Systems over time, the iPhone is a little bit different. As a developer and programmer myself, I have witnessed first-hand instances where the iPhone apps (especially Apple's own Safari and the iPod player) did NOT release memory once you leave that App or go to another one. Instead, I have noticed numerous times where these Apps were still using this memory and no matter what you did, that memory would not be released without a hard reboot.

I think part of the problem is that Apple never developed a way to circumvent this problem from the get-go. OS X on the iPhone is an amazing little OS that uses very clever ways in the way that it threads certain items, but many people believe this issue or problem I should say (and if judging by the amount of apps dedicated to this issue is any indicator, one that is not going away) is one that is quite warranted.

I'm not saying that Apple doesn't have a point in how developers should use it's own OS, but it is something that Apple should address seriously or they are going to lose more and more people to Jailbreaking their phone.

[Tweak3D]

you guys ever think because apple has made a huge deal about how much better the iphone was at memory management that having an app to fix there memory problems makes them look bad? i complained because they can't write software so they punish others to preserve their image. I don't care if you give Windows Mobile crap for having a task manager, id rather have that option than have to restart my phone so much

[cellocello]

I don't care if you give Windows Mobile crap for having a task manager, id rather have that option than have to restart my phone so much

Like, how much are we talking about?

[Tweak3D]

well, on my original 3G, i've noticed that after any graphic intense game I need to restart or everything is slow or if check my mail often it becomes slow and sometimes unresponsive, with push there is no reason to have some of these apps open at all times, my usage of the phone is too varied to keep some apps open incase I use them again, id rather have a few extra seconds of load time because even a freshly loaded app really doesn't take that long to open.

[Xibalba]

Well, lucky I already have my free memory app installed then.

Agree - I updated the iStat program and knew before that the free memory would be gone but I will not update FreeMemory because I do notice significant improvement after use.

Until Apple can explain their reasoning, then this is quite an idiotic move on their part - why don't they just code their own app for freeing memory with the next firmware update? Prob because that would admit weakness in the OS...

[Full of Win]

Good thing Apple did this. Having the ability to free memory might give users the impression they have some control. Better remove it, as with Google Voice, because it might confuse and bewilder us. :confused:

Actually we should thank Apple for this, because we have the OS that has been kissed by Steve "Jesus H. Christ" Jobs, it is beyond perfection and any change to the intended plan of operation is an affront to the correct workings of the universe.:D

[Spades]

I'm with Apple on preventing apps from freeing memory like this. It's an extremely bad way to do it that has a not insubstantial chance of permanently breaking other software. Anybody using these is playing with fire.

On the other hand it's ridiculous that there would be any need for apps that free memory. Apple's done an amazing job with the iPhone OS; It's amazing how they turned a solid OS like OS X into something in the same class as Windows Mobile.

[longofest]

I'm with Apple on preventing apps from freeing memory like this. It's an extremely bad way to do it that has a not insubstantial chance of permanently breaking other software. Anybody using these is playing with fire.

How exactly does one application allocating memory run a chance of "permanently breaking" other software?

[ikir]

IPhone already free memory when it is needed. I have iStat, great app but i will not miss it. Sometimes also this "free memory" button crashed my phone. Just... use iPhone.

I laugh at who says "another reason to jailbreak" since most of time instability are caused by installer and cydia trashes & hacks.

[IBradMac]

I sorta agree that they didn't work as effectively.

Nope, see below...

A step closer to real multitasking?

Hmmm....

sbsettings, nuff said. :apple::):apple:

Works great. Doesn't require any memory to open. It seemed to me that iStat used around 7-8 just to start? Kinda ruins the point eh?

[nxent]

*******, i installed the update to istat just before reading this

[Spades]

How exactly does one application allocating memory run a chance of "permanently breaking" other software?

If it works as somebody else described, allocating memory until the system runs out and it starts killing processes, then these memory freeing applications are the equivalent of doing a Force Quit on all the applications on your Mac.

99.5% of the time you'll be OK, but you also run that 0.5% chance of killing it in the middle of a critical operation and corrupting data. Corrupt a database or plist, and the app has some chance of not working until the corrupted data is cleaned up. And good luck doing that on an iPhone.

[Riemann Zeta]

This function is literally the only reason I purchased iStat for the iPhone. I guess that I will have to be on guard to prevent my version from being accidently updated to the now (for me) functionless version.

What *********. I guess this is one way of promoting the 3GS phone.

[ctdonath]

Having the ability to free memory might give users the impression they have some control.

You misunderstand what this application is doing - esp. HOW it is doing it.

You could tell people they can fill their car's gas tank with pure ethanol and run on that to have "control" over their fuel source (with a warm fuzzy feeling of snubbing The Man), but they may not understand that the subsequent blowout of engine gaskets is related to your bad advice.

If a tool frees memory by identifying orphaned blocks and freeing them correctly, fine.
This one frees memory by growing until nothing else has space to run in and gets forcibly released/terminated - a Very Bad way of solving the problem.

The correct solution is make sure Apple gets it as a clear common bug report, and they fix the imperfect OS code.

[Full of Win]

I have used two of these, iStatPro and SystemMonitor (?). Anyhow, I've found that a wipe is needed sometimes before I can get iHeartRadio to properly function.

Just thought I would mention it.

[mavis]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS (White, 32GB): Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

This function is literally the only reason I purchased iStat for the iPhone. I guess that I will have to be on guard to prevent my version from being accidently updated to the now (for me) functionless version.

What *********. I guess this is one way of promoting the 3GS phone.

I would request (demand) a refund from Apple.

[Templex]

Behold!
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3324/img0012x.png

This is SBSettings. You can access it from any application by swiping across the status bar on the top, and it swooshes down.

Also: How free memory apps work is by allocating (requesting) as much memory as they can, and then releasing it all. If a process still needs memory then that won't be given to the free memory app. It's not quite like force quitting. This is not "playing with fire," as someone put it.

In addition jailbreaking in itself does not make your phone unstable. All you're doing with jailbreaking is changing the filesystem at / to allow writing, and perhaps a patch to lockdownd to bypass activation. What causes unstability and slowness is, by far, caused by Winterboard. There are some other apps that will give you trouble. You can install things such as SBSettings, YourTube, and Safari Download Manager, etc., however, with little impact on CPU and memory usage. Just avoid Winterboard and you'll be fine.

[Highland]

You misunderstand what this application is doing - esp. HOW it is doing it.
I think you're missing the point that the function only caused Safari, Mail and non-vital apps to quit. They quit on their own terms, controlled by the OS (with a big nudge from iStat).

I'm not suggesting that it's the best way to do things, or an amazing feature, but some users found it useful. I used to use it to ensure Mail wasn't fetching new messages.

If a user likes the rest of iStat, but doesn't like the free mem button, then that's fine. iStat does a lot more: remote Mac/Linux/Solaris/FreeBSD monitoring etc.

The correct solution is make sure Apple gets it as a clear common bug report, and they fix the imperfect OS code.
Absolutely. That's a path that might take some time to travel though. There's also a chance they might not consider the way things work to be bad.

In the mean time, other solutions could be seen as viable options.

It's an extremely bad way to do it that has a not insubstantial chance of permanently breaking other software.
All third party apps are sandboxed. No third party app can break another third party app (in theory anyway).

For the record, we're not upset with this decision. We're still committed to writing the best iPhone apps we possibly can. We're still committed to ensuring iStat is the best app of its kind (stats/remote stats/network tools).

However, I think this thread is getting off topic. The issue isn't really about a single function being a nice or naughty thing to do, it's about the App Store being a volatile place for developers AND users. The people who bought our app for feature X have every right to be angry if it gets removed. We would have been fine with Apple saying they didn't want the feature on day 1. Letting us release with it, then removing it is what's caused the problems.

It's not just developers that are being hurt, it's all iPhone users.

We realise that the App Store is still new and needs work though. We're open to any dialogue from our users, other developers or Apple that helps move things forward for all of us.

[Spades]

All third party apps are sandboxed. No third party app can break another third party app (in theory anyway).

You can break them when you intentionally crash them. Although you shouldn't be able to intentionally crash them.

Of course I'm operating under the assumption here that this memory freeing process works as described above: Allocate memory until the operating system starts killing processes. If it works differently then my point is moot.

[bhppy83]

I just want to say thanks to those who put up useful posts about this thread. I've been trying to understand why Apple would do this, and several of you have posted great responses, and I think I'm getting a better picture. Thanks Highland for the response, as an iStat user its great to see the company I gave my money to isn't in the game of inflaming a situation but practices patience and perseverance. Something I think a lot more people should have in general, especially when it comes to technology as a whole. Hopefully Apple will explain its actions as soon as it's edited and polished its statement. Something I've always appreciated about them, the thought before speaking and not just reacting... again something more people should embrace.

Oh... and I'm good without the free memory button. I think I might actually enjoy seeing the shutdown swipe a little more!

[UngratefulNinja]

One of the ones I use, memory sweep, is still in the app store. I just searched for it and it's still coming up :confused:

[Highland]

You can break them when you intentionally crash them. Although you shouldn't be able to intentionally crash them.
My comment was regarding third party apps. We CAN NOT crash (or break) third party apps because they are not running while iStat is running.

We have seen no reports of the free memory function doing any permanent damage. The absolute worst case is that the phone resets. So I guess our users are rolling the dice: hit a button to quit Safari etc and be able to play a game with more ram or reset. Sure, there's cases where it might fail, but from the responses we've had, people were happy with the function.

We were very happy that Apple chose to contact us so we could release an update on our terms and inform as many users as possible that the update was coming.

It's worth noting that there's plenty of cases where software heads into grey territory, doing things like using unsupported or undocumented APIs etc*. It's always a risk, but if it's the only option available**, then the risk might be worthwhile.

*iStat for iPhone does not use any unsupported or undocumented APIs. This was just an example. There's lots of software on Mac OS X and other platforms that is stable and wildly useful that does though. Doesn't mean they're "bad" or "immoral", just that they might break at any point if Apple change the OS.

**In this case, the only other alternative is to reset the iPhone/iPod. Might be ok for you, but others have appreciated the short cut we've provided. Please don't judge something just because you don't like it. Others might.

[Spades]

My comment was regarding third party apps. We CAN NOT crash (or break) third party apps because they are not running while iStat is running.

I didn't specify only third party apps. Those are actual safe(r) for the reason you mentioned. (Although the iPhone OS will happily kill third party apps and create the potential for this same crash-corrupt problem, won't it?) These free memory apps are killing Apple's apps, are they not? So the potential is there to break Mail, Notes, Safari, etc.

And freeing memory occasionally resets the phone? Meaning that it occasionally CRASHES the OS? That's an awful idea.

[Highland]

These free memory apps are killing Apple's apps, are they not? So the potential is there to break Mail, Notes, Safari, etc.
I think you're taking this to the extreme. As far as I understand, the OS asks Safari, Mail and iPod to quit, then they quit themselves. There's no "killing" in the "force quit" or terminal "killall" command sense.

Even if there was, don't you force quit apps/processes on OS X all the time? I do it fairly regularly with zero side effects.

All App Store apps can only affect things within their sandbox. iStat is no exception.

And again, I don't think the free mem function should be the part of this we're questioning. It the app approval inconsistancy that's the discussion point.

[rgwebb]

in after the apple defense force.

Seriously, nobody would argue about force quitting an application in OS X or terminating a process in Windows task manager. Anybody following down this line of thought for the iPhone environment is just being an Apple apologist for their draconian management of the App Store.

[Mr. Gates]

This is a VERY screwed up move by Apple.

I use this app for games before I play. It has been VERY usefull.

All you Apple butt kissers need to grow a pair and call out the BS

[VulchR]

.... The issue isn't really about a single function being a nice or naughty thing to do, it's about the App Store being a volatile place for developers AND users ....

+1

Possibly the most intelligent comment I have read here.

Apple should at least explain itself, and describe how they're going to improve memory management so that users do not experience lag or instability.

[the Helix]

Apple need to stop micro-managing software developers. There is the SDK and other developer guidelines to keep things within the limits of the operating system.

The underlying attitude of Apple is similar to a despot who wants to control and manage everything. This is not healthy. It's outright despotism.

[UNDERD0G]

One of the ones I use, memory sweep, is still in the app store. I just searched for it and it's still coming up :confused:

Yea, today is Sept. 5th 09 and this app is still in the uk and usa app store.
Why is this?

[mkrishnan]

Yea, today is Sept. 5th 09 and this app is still in the uk and usa app store.
Why is this?

Yeah, I was just thinking about this as well yesterday... maybe it's likethe Emoji app -- after Apple swept the store for them and pulled them all, are there not still a couple of apps in the store that do that, too?

[iPhone 62S]

Yes there are both Emoji and free memory apps still in the store, saw a free memory one in there today.

I've had my 3GS for a few days and have never felt I needed a free memory app though.

[rdstoll]

I know I'm late to the party on this topic but just have to say that this is classic Apple bait-and-switch. I loved the 'free memory' feature on iStat as I've grown frustrated waiting 2 minutes for my 3GS to close and then another minute and a half to boot up again. It's a joke. And now the best way I had to "clear the decks" in just a few seconds gets taken away for no reason.

So Apple takes a cut of the sales on this app, where probably 90% of the people who bought it did so for the free memory feature, only to tell them to take this feature out?? But now I can see better how much memory is being hogged up with no way to fix the problem without shutting the device off? Thanks, Apple.

[cyclone84]

It seems to me that the 3.1 software has different (better?) memory management.

For example, iStat used to display 1 or 2 MB "free" memory every time I launched the app. Now, it is normally between 10 and 15 MB "free". This is welcomed and makes up for the elimination of "free memory" apps, in my opinion.

[FearlessFreep]

It seems to me that the 3.1 software has different (better?) memory management.

For example, iStat used to display 1 or 2 MB "free" memory every time I launched the app. Now, it is normally between 10 and 15 MB "free". This is welcomed and makes up for the elimination of "free memory" apps, in my opinion.

But iStat still frees more memory for me. Mobile Safari is the biggest hog. And it does not free up unless you force close it.

[Highland]

But iStat still frees more memory for me.
Just free 46MB (from 79MB to 125MB) here using a beta of iStat 1.1 and an updated free memory function that was going to be in version 1.1. Shame we couldn't give it to all our users.

[Battlefield Fan]

Just free 46MB (from 79MB to 125MB) here using a beta of iStat 1.1 and an updated free memory function that was going to be in version 1.1. Shame we couldn't give it to all our users.

this is sad :(

[astro2]

We can always hope against hope that this issue will actually be resolved in the next firmware? Erm... :o

You wish buddy, apple likes to keep their users on a leesh

i just updated to 4.2.1 and my ram has gone down the toilet

AND found out that if you exit out of an app it STAYS in residual memory.

How do i know? well I have a jailbroken iphone and I can use sbsettings

allows me to see whats running and what I exit out of (i.e i press home button) an app (game) it still says there when it should be gone.

I have to forcefully KILL all apps running in the background. God i hate apple now more then usual