Complaints Mounting About iOS 13.2 Being 'More Aggressive at Killing Background Apps and Tasks'

[MiniMoney]

If someone has already made the point I'm about to make, I apologize. I don't have the time to read every remark in this thread.

I don't think this is a bug. I think it's operating as Apple intended. In iOS development, there is a thing called "state restoration". State restoration in an app gives the illusion that an app was moved from the background to foreground when in reality it had quit and was relaunched. It's the responsibility of the app developer to implement state restoration in their app. They must write code to record where you are in the app and the data it's using. When the app is relaunched, the developer's code brings it back to the same point with the same data it had previously. Prior to iOS 13, when you switched from app A to app B and then back to A, it probably stayed in the background and wasn't terminated. That most likely isn't the case now. The problematic apps probably don't implement state restoration. The reason I think iOS's behavior is intentional is based on a remark made in one of Apple's development videos:

"In iOS 13, state restoration is no longer a nicety. It is crucial for your application to implement scene based restoration."
You can hear the discussion in the following link starting at the 7:40 time mark.
https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/258/?time=463

My advice is to contact your app's developer and let them know you want them to implement state restoration. Really Apple should have let developers know in June 2018 that state restoration would be critical in the next year.

 

[Delgibbons]

I refuse to believe that this is intentional. It HAS to be a bug, otherwise this is a HUGE step backwards.

But.... But.... "Pro"

I thought iOS doesn't need RAM as it manages memory so efficiently!

 

[joelhinch]

If someone has already made the point I'm about to make, I apologize. I don't have the time to read every remark in this thread.

I don't think this is a bug. I think it's operating as Apple intended. In iOS development, there is a thing called "state restoration". State restoration in an app gives the illusion that an app was moved from the background to foreground when in reality it had quit and was relaunched. It's the responsibility of the app developer to implement state restoration in their app. They must write code to record where you are in the app and the data it's using. When the app is relaunched, the developer's code brings it back to the same point with the same data it had previously. Prior to iOS 13, when you switched from app A to app B and then back to A, it probably stayed in the background and wasn't terminated. That most likely isn't the case now. The problematic apps probably don't implement state restoration. The reason I think iOS's behavior is intentional is based on a remark made in one of Apple's development videos:

"In iOS 13, state restoration is no longer a nicety. It is crucial for your application to implement scene based restoration."
You can hear the discussion in the following link starting at the 7:40 time mark.
https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/258/?time=463

My advice is to contact your app's developer and let them know you want them to implement state restoration. Really Apple should have let developers know in June 2018 that state restoration would be critical in the next year.

Explain safari reloading every tab then. Apple forgot to implement their own feature?

 

[daftna]

I hope this is a bug and not a “feature” — and why the hell do iPhones not use swap space?!?!
I just had facebook refresh a website while I was in the app twice.

How the *#}}^* did Apple software get so buggy and lose so much usability in such a short time with such a small set of products?!?!

 

[MiniMoney]

Explain safari reloading every tab then. Apple forgot to implement their own feature?

If it’s reloading the tabs, then it’s doing state restoration. If you switch away from Safari and then come back and the tabs are gone or are there but the pages are blank, then you could say they aren’t implementing their own feature. Sure, they could cache the web page but most websites have dynamic content. For example, you don’t want to just redisplay a cached web page if it’s showing weather, sports, stocks, or news info which could have changed since you switched away from Safari. Apple has no way of knowing if it’s OK to show old data so they play it safe and reload the pages.

 

[Mediakip]

iPhone XR, iOS 13.1.3: I pause an Overcast pod via my BT headphones, try to play it again a minute later and it won’t play, the app is closed and I have to open it again to press play. Also games and other apps refresh after being closed less than a minute. And I have not been using the camera in between, in some cases I have not used any app in between, just gone to home screen or paused pod for a while.

 

[makitango]

With all that AI hype, how come nobody tasks an „AI“ to program a proper OS? I‘m sure a machine understands what works and what doesn‘t.
Oh that‘s right, it‘s because AI is just a new word for program and people fall for that.

 

[femike]

I just posted this few days back on the editing improvement post, where is the magnifying glass? I have just gotten back to iPhone after using iPhone 7 Plus for 10 months, few years back.

They took the magnifying glass away. I used to use this and cursor form the keyboard. Disappointing. Its not even in accessibility.

 

[Wando64]

If someone has already made the point I'm about to make, I apologize. I don't have the time to read every remark in this thread.

I don't think this is a bug. I think it's operating as Apple intended. In iOS development, there is a thing called "state restoration". State restoration in an app gives the illusion that an app was moved from the background to foreground when in reality it had quit and was relaunched. It's the responsibility of the app developer to implement state restoration in their app. They must write code to record where you are in the app and the data it's using. When the app is relaunched, the developer's code brings it back to the same point with the same data it had previously. Prior to iOS 13, when you switched from app A to app B and then back to A, it probably stayed in the background and wasn't terminated. That most likely isn't the case now. The problematic apps probably don't implement state restoration. The reason I think iOS's behavior is intentional is based on a remark made in one of Apple's development videos:

"In iOS 13, state restoration is no longer a nicety. It is crucial for your application to implement scene based restoration."
You can hear the discussion in the following link starting at the 7:40 time mark.
https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/258/?time=463

My advice is to contact your app's developer and let them know you want them to implement state restoration. Really Apple should have let developers know in June 2018 that state restoration would be critical in the next year.

the majority of people seem to complain about Mail and Safari.
if state restoration was the issue, I think Apple would have it under control on those two apps.

 

[MiniMoney]

the majority of people seem to complain about Mail and Safari.
if state restoration was the issue, I think Apple would have it under control on those two apps.

I see your point. However, following your logic that Apple would have things under control, recently used apps on the dock would have been working previous to 13.2. It wasn’t. I think that’s just one of many issues we would think Apple would have under control but they don’t. My quick scan of the remarks on this thread showed that it was a problem in a lot of apps, not just Safari and Mail.

 

[Blue Hawk]

If this would be really a feature there is no reason to use iOS devices anymore because iOS is dumb now.

 

[largefarrva]

If this is intentional behavior and we can expect more of these types of issues then there’s really no reason for me to not look into checking out Android & Windows. I made the mistake of installing iOS 13....I likely will never install Catalina on my imac.

 

[fredrik9]

I have also started to notice this. I go from my Pages document sided with PDF Expert to Safari and then back and boom! Reloads almost every time. This did not happen prior to iOS 13.2. Makes it extremely annoying to work with my iPad.

 

[nebo1ss]

This is not surprising and is probably their attempt to make battery life better. They always claim better battery life with new releases and this is probably one of the ways they achieve this. Not giving them a pass because they should be more transparent.

 

[chucker23n1]

If someone has already made the point I'm about to make, I apologize. I don't have the time to read every remark in this thread.

I don't think this is a bug. I think it's operating as Apple intended.

It's either unlikely or very callous of Apple to change the behavior in a minor release (13.2) and not even document this change.

They might make such a change in a major release (13) and make mentions at WWDC. But they didn't do that.

"In iOS 13, state restoration is no longer a nicety. It is crucial for your application to implement scene based restoration."

Sounds nice, so when will Safari start handling it? Try starting to fill out a form, then looking something up to fill the remainder. Boom, form gone.

My advice is to contact your app's developer and let them know you want them to implement state restoration. Really Apple should have let developers know in June 2018 that state restoration would be critical in the next year.

The article includes multiple developers who are baffled by this change.

 

[Blue Hawk]

This is not surprising and is probably their attempt to make battery life better. They always claim better battery life with new releases and this is probably one of the ways they achieve this. Not giving them a pass because they should be more transparent.

And how should an iPad replace an notebook when multitasking is not possible anymore? Write something for work or school, switch to Safari, switch to word and everything is deleted if you have back luck.

 

[VSMacOne]

But.... But.... "Pro"

I thought iOS doesn't need RAM as it manages memory so efficiently!

iOS has done a solid job with ram management for years. That’s why this 13.2 aberration is so much worse.

 

[JosephAW]

I'm surprised that iOS never had the option to use the built in SSD storage for virtual memory. That way you could keep dozens of apps open.

 

[IG88]

I don’t like that Apple has public betas. Too many people install it just for the features instead of beta testing.

I think iOS has gotten worse because of public betas.

The only way public betas make things worse is if the company has gotten rid of a bunch of internal QA testers and "replaced" them with the public.

 

[JosephAW]

This same reason (and why Apple started signing iOS 6) is why I reverted my iPhone 4S to iOS 6 and then iOS 8.4 because iOS 9 was horrible. Now they say I have to update to 9 or loose internet access?

 

[Val-kyrie]

At some point, Apple’s lack of software QA is going to hurt its sales.

A growing number of iPhone and iPad users have complained about poor RAM management on iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, leading to apps like Safari, YouTube, and Overcast reloading more frequently upon being reopened. We've lightly edited some of the comments to correct things like capitalization.

MacRumors forum member Rogifan:MacRumors forum member Radon87000, using an iPad Pro on iPadOS 13.2:MacRumors forum member HappyDude20:Based on anecdotal comments from affected users, the issue appears to have become worse as of iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2. Artist, designer, and developer Nick Heer wrote this on his blog yesterday:On his blog, developer Michael Tsai has rounded up similar complaints on Twitter.

Marco Arment:Christopher Stephens:Cabel Sasser:More complaints are found in this Twitter thread, in this Reddit thread, in the Apple Support Communities, and elsewhere on the web.

​

Affected users are hoping this issue can be resolved in a future software update. We've reached out to Apple for comment.

Article Link: Complaints Mounting About iOS 13.2 Being 'More Aggressive at Killing Background Apps and Tasks'

 

[IG88]

My advice is to contact your app's developer

Who develops Safari? That's the app I'm having trouble with. Oh it's made by Apple you say? Ok then, nice chat.

 

[macfacts]

If someone has already made the point I'm about to make, I apologize. I don't have the time to read every remark in this thread.

I don't think this is a bug. I think it's operating as Apple intended. In iOS development, there is a thing called "state restoration". State restoration in an app gives the illusion that an app was moved from the background to foreground when in reality it had quit and was relaunched. It's the responsibility of the app developer to implement state restoration in their app. They must write code to record where you are in the app and the data it's using. When the app is relaunched, the developer's code brings it back to the same point with the same data it had previously. Prior to iOS 13, when you switched from app A to app B and then back to A, it probably stayed in the background and wasn't terminated. That most likely isn't the case now. The problematic apps probably don't implement state restoration. The reason I think iOS's behavior is intentional is based on a remark made in one of Apple's development videos:

"In iOS 13, state restoration is no longer a nicety. It is crucial for your application to implement scene based restoration."
You can hear the discussion in the following link starting at the 7:40 time mark.
https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/258/?time=463

My advice is to contact your app's developer and let them know you want them to implement state restoration. Really Apple should have let developers know in June 2018 that state restoration would be critical in the next year.

Are you forgetting apple is the one that makes Safari and about tab refreshing

 

[Rogifan]

If someone has already made the point I'm about to make, I apologize. I don't have the time to read every remark in this thread.

I don't think this is a bug. I think it's operating as Apple intended. In iOS development, there is a thing called "state restoration". State restoration in an app gives the illusion that an app was moved from the background to foreground when in reality it had quit and was relaunched. It's the responsibility of the app developer to implement state restoration in their app. They must write code to record where you are in the app and the data it's using. When the app is relaunched, the developer's code brings it back to the same point with the same data it had previously. Prior to iOS 13, when you switched from app A to app B and then back to A, it probably stayed in the background and wasn't terminated. That most likely isn't the case now. The problematic apps probably don't implement state restoration. The reason I think iOS's behavior is intentional is based on a remark made in one of Apple's development videos:

"In iOS 13, state restoration is no longer a nicety. It is crucial for your application to implement scene based restoration."
You can hear the discussion in the following link starting at the 7:40 time mark.
https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2019/258/?time=463

My advice is to contact your app's developer and let them know you want them to implement state restoration. Really Apple should have let developers know in June 2018 that state restoration would be critical in the next year.

Who is the app developer for Safari?

 

[darcyf]

Forget it. They don’t read our feedbacks

Not here they don’t