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JetBlack7

macrumors 68030
Original poster
May 14, 2011
2,543
790
Portugal
I read online somewhere that having your apps all lined up instead of all grouped in folders eats some of your RAM. Just wanted to know if this is true or not.
 
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I'm assuming by "all lined up" you mean in the "task manager" when you double click the home button.

The short answer is that while some of the apps that truly work in the background will use up RAM - most apps don't truly run in the background, they just remain in a frozen state until you reopen.

It doesn't hurt to go through and close them all every once in a while though.
 
You only need to close about the first 8. That is, if you are worried about RAM or some things are running a bit slow. I doubt it really affects battery to a noticeable extent.

Anyway, only the first couple slides "run in the background".
 
Anyway, only the first couple slides "run in the background".

Hmmm thats a new one. Have never heard that before, which isn't entirely true. Most applications do not run in the background, but some that "freeze" use up a lot of ram, like Real Racing 2, uses roughly 175MB in "freeze mode".

No matter if that is in slot 3 or 20 it uses the same amount of ram. Once all the ram is completely exhausted older applications will loosen up their ram hold for newer applications trying to "freeze" information. Nonetheless every app in "freeze" mode is using ram, which in turn can slow down performance and decrease battery.
 
You only need to close about the first 8. That is, if you are worried about RAM or some things are running a bit slow. I doubt it really affects battery to a noticeable extent.

Anyway, only the first couple slides "run in the background".

Hmmm thats a new one. Have never heard that before, which isn't entirely true. Most applications do not run in the background, but some that "freeze" use up a lot of ram, like Real Racing 2, uses roughly 175MB in "freeze mode".

No matter if that is in slot 3 or 20 it uses the same amount of ram. Once all the ram is completely exhausted older applications will loosen up their ram hold for newer applications trying to "freeze" information. Nonetheless every app in "freeze" mode is using ram, which in turn can slow down performance and decrease battery.


While it may not be true for iDevices with 512Mb of ram. It is certainly true for the older 256Mb ones.
 
Hmmm thats a new one. Have never heard that before, which isn't entirely true. Most applications do not run in the background, but some that "freeze" use up a lot of ram, like Real Racing 2, uses roughly 175MB in "freeze mode".

No matter if that is in slot 3 or 20 it uses the same amount of ram. Once all the ram is completely exhausted older applications will loosen up their ram hold for newer applications trying to "freeze" information. Nonetheless every app in "freeze" mode is using ram, which in turn can slow down performance and decrease battery.

Yes, they "freeze". That's why I put "run in the background" in quotes. Further, it is only the first 12 (16?) or so that freeze in the background. Open angry birds and then open 6 apps after that. Now open AB again, it's in the same state. Now open 16 or so more apps and go back to AB, it will restart the app.

Edit: It's a bit more on the iPhone 4 it seems, that's how it was on my old 3Gs, the 4 didn't quit the backgrounding until about 30 apps in.
 
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Yes, they "freeze". That's why I put "run in the background" in quotes. Further, it is only the first 12 (16?) or so that freeze in the background. Open angry birds and then open 6 apps after that. Now open AB again, it's in the same state. Now open 16 or so more apps and go back to AB, it will restart the app.

Edit: It's a bit more on the iPhone 4 it seems, this was how it was on my old 3Gs, it didn't quit the backgrounding until about 30 apps in.

I'm unable to replicate it.. I just opened up Fruit Ninja, started playing then exited out. Opened up 15 games, fully loaded, then Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Netflix, iMovie, IMDB, and Navigon. Went back to Fruit Ninja and it was exactly where I left off.


Edit: Just checked iStat, with all that I still have 85MB remaining free, so I was not even close.. Anyway, I always close out all my apps 2-3 times a day, because I notice better performance.
 
Sorry but I must have been misunderstood. I meant If I leave my apps in the desktop normally instead of putting them in folders with the rest of the other apps, does it chew RAM memory? ;)
 
Sorry but I must have been misunderstood. I meant If I leave my apps in the desktop normally instead of putting them in folders with the rest of the other apps, does it chew RAM memory? ;)

Bad choice of titel....

AFAIK it doesn't take up ram. And even if it does, it's so little so you won't notice it.
But please, correct me if i'm wrong on this one:)
 
Am I really the only one that caught the fact that he believed if you have the apps on the home screen,(out of a folder) as opposed to being inside a folder, that it "chews" through RAM?
 
Am I really the only one that caught the fact that he believed if you have the apps on the home screen,(out of a folder) as opposed to being inside a folder, that it "chews" through RAM?

Exactly!! Thank you!

So does anyone know if it's true? :)
 
Exactly!! Thank you!

Not their fault. I agree with others that it was not the best title choice :)

So does anyone know if it's true? :)

Yes, supposedly folders use less memory.

Apparently as of iOS4, the Springboard only keeps visible icons in its memory space, whether they're individual apps or app folders.

So, for the same number of loaded apps, using folders will use less memory because they require fewer visible icons in the static state.

(When you open a folder, it allocates memory and loads the app icons inside. When you close the folder, it releases the memory.)

Some people claim this makes Springboard snappier. I can't visualize a huge difference in memory, however, unless you went from say, 11 pages of icons down to a couple of pages of folders. Doesn't seem worth worrying about.

Caveat: I have not personally checked this. I have simply read the same information.
 
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Not their fault. I agree with others that it was not the best title choice :)



Yes, supposedly folders use less memory.

Apparently as of iOS4, the Springboard only keeps visible icons in its memory space, whether they're individual apps or app folders.

So, for the same number of loaded apps, using folders will use less memory because they require fewer visible icons in the static state.

(When you open a folder, it allocates memory and loads the app icons inside. When you close the folder, it releases the memory.)

Some people claim this makes Springboard snappier. I can't visualize a huge difference in memory, however, unless you went from say, 11 pages of icons down to a couple of pages of folders. Doesn't seem worth worrying about.

Caveat: I have not personally checked this. I have simply read the same information.

The icons are visible (or at least 9 of them) even when they're in a folder.

I'm not sure how less memory can be used because of that.
 
Yes, supposedly folders use less memory.

Apparently as of iOS4, the Springboard only keeps visible icons in its memory space, whether they're individual apps or app folders.

So, for the same number of loaded apps, using folders will use less memory because they require fewer visible icons in the static state.

(When you open a folder, it allocates memory and loads the app icons inside. When you close the folder, it releases the memory.)

Some people claim this makes Springboard snappier. I can't visualize a huge difference in memory, however, unless you went from say, 11 pages of icons down to a couple of pages of folders. Doesn't seem worth worrying about.

Caveat: I have not personally checked this. I have simply read the same information.

I can confirm that having apps in folders make the phone more smooth when open/closing apps, and switching to different pages on my 3GS. Not really an issue with the iPhone 4.

Thanks!
 
not sure why, but I notice on my iPhone 4 folder animation is very smooth both when opening and closing the folder. On my iPad 2 the opening animation is usually smooth, but the closing animation is almost always choppy and stutters.

I like to use folders so I have less screens to flick through, but I don't see how using them would take up less RAM. In fact I would think if anything it would use more RAM because you have a potential 192 apps (logos) on a single page as opposed to the old 16.

As far as multitasking goes- I have made a habit of cleaning out the tray a few times a day, and I too notice the phone runs smoother overall when I do. I don't notice much of a difference in battery drain regardless of how many apps I have frozen. It's been almost a full year and I am just now starting to notice my phone isn't holding a charge quite as long as it used to, but the difference is barely noticeable.
 
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