Closing running apps

[ant2009]

Hello,

I have just bought my first iPod Touch 4g White.

However, I am just wondering what is the correct way to close apps.

Normally, I open a app and then when I have finished I click the home key.

Just a few questions about this:
1) Is the app still running in the background if you click the home key?

2) Double clicking on the home key. Does this show you the most previous app that was used? Or does it show all the apps running in the background?

3) After double clicking, and press and holding an app. I click the minus sign to close the app. Is this the same as question 1. It closes the app?

4) Does all these apps running in the background take up battery power.

Many thanks for answering the above questions. But this is my first time with an iPod.

 

[Ashwood11]

Go to the Apple Store and download the appropriate User Guide.

Http://support.apple.com/manuals/

 

[Small White Car]

In general, pressing home closes the app. That's all you need to do.

- - - -

There, that's the basic rule. Now here are the exceptions:

1) Some things run in the background because you WANT them to. Your mail keeps checking mail. Your iPod keeps playing music. Skype stays ready in case someone calls you.

Yes, those are running, but you WANT them to be running. In most cases it's not the whole app that's running anyway, but a background process that's separate from the app. So Skype the app is not running. Skype the "notification API" is running.

These are good things and you shouldn't worry about them.


2) Most apps stay in RAM even when they're closed. This is not a problem because it helps them launch faster the next time. If your phone needs more RAM it will clear the memory from the oldest one in storage.

This is a good thing and you shouldn't'worry about it.


3) Yes, the list is really just "recently used" apps. Now, as 1 and 2 state, some of those may be doing things in the background or may be using RAM, but as we've stated, those are good things that you don't need to worry about.

4) So why the ability to close them? Well, it's good for when something goes wrong. If you launch an app and it crashes or maybe a game gets stuck or something's not working right...then sure, open up the list and 'x' that app out of the switcher tray! It will force quit it and you can try it again fresh.

So this is great to have, but it's not something you should be doing normally. I force-quit an app maybe once a week. Useful, but if you're doing it all the time something's wrong.

 

[NutsNGum]

I don't agree at all that leaving many apps open in the background is an option, as much as Apple may say that it's not a problem.

For example, the browser can start to respond more slowly and pages take longer to load, UI can become sluggish, answer call button can become unresponsive (although not a problem on iPod Touch, obviously) Other applications can start to perform poorly, etc.

There are many reasons why its beneficial to force close apps. Particularly on a lower RAM device such as the iPad 1, Touch or 3GS.

These aren't necessarily indications of a problem with your device, in most cases they're just a result of hardware limitations.

 

[Small White Car]

There are many reasons why its beneficial to force close apps. Particularly on a lower RAM device such as the iPad 1, Touch or 3GS.

I'm not sure what you're saying...that when Apple says the phone automatically clears RAM when needed, they're lying?

Are all Apple's claims made up? Or do you have a list of which statements you believe are real and which ones you think are fabricated?

 

[NutsNGum]

I'm not sure what you're saying...that when Apple says the phone automatically clears RAM when needed, they're lying?

Are all Apple's claims made up? Or do you have a list of which statements
you believe are real and which ones you think are fabricated?

Not that they're explicitly lying, just, for marketing purposes, being a little economical with the facts. It's no more than I would expect from any other company.

Whilst I don't doubt what they say about RAM reassignment is true, it's definitely an issue for the devices that don't have a lot of it -- in my experience, at least.