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How To Close iOS 4.0 Multitasking Apps

June22

Here’s how to close multitasking programs (iPhone 3GS & iPhone 4 only) with iOS 4.0. Double click the home button to open the multitasking bar and tap and hold down on an icon until you see the image below. Then tap the red minus.

Here’s something interesting to note (that I suspect people won’t realize for a while). Each of those apps you see there, such as Skype and all third party apps, until they’re updated for multitasking like Pandora is, aren’t really running in the background. They’re like a 12 app history of what you’ve had open, but aren’t really open in the background. That’s a good thing though. But those apps aren’t running in the background and there’s no need to close them because they aren’t really open.

In fact, there shouldn’t be much need to close backgrounding apps either. Most of them that is.

The reason why is because, once you stop their backgrounding function (such as pausing audio), the background API’s stop working.

So we shouldn’t need to worry about closing programs. Most programs that is. Some programs, such as the GPS navigation app from Navigon, don’t have a real “stop” function. They use the GPS and have no reason to stop. That’s a program we’d want to stop by closing it. Even if doesn’t effect performance, it would drain the battery life.

In fact, most things don’t use the CPU of iPhone 3GS’s to its fullest. But that’s the point. To get the most battery life, iPhones don’t use the CPU to it’s fullest. But with multitasking, things change. You can leave a GPS running and still get great performance, but it’ll eat into your battery life.

So that’s why we wanna’ close /stop apps that do a lot of stuff from running in the background if we’re not using them.

Peace, JbB

guest

Actualy they do take up memory whether they are multi tasking or not. I'm still trying to figure out how to close out apps and not send them to the multi task bar.

johnbbaird

Na, they're not running in the background at all actually.

For instance, open an app that has some kind of loading screen and isn't multitasking aware. Switch to another app and then switch back to it. You see the loading screen.

Apps, such as Facebook, that are iSave aware (most apps are, besides some games), also aren't running but are just being hibernated. For instance, before iOS 4.0, with the Facebook app, if I'm in the middle of typing a message to someone and I click the home button, I can return to the app and it'll load up the same exact way. That's not multitasking, that's iSave.

In fact, even iOS 4.0 multitasking apps don't take up memory when not running after a while. When playing Pandora in the background, I paused it and used other apps. Then after 20 minutes, I returned to Pandora (which still appeared in the "multitasking bar") and the Pandora splash screen appeared and a new song came up, which means the app completely closed and wasn't even hibernated. Before, with iSave, I could close the Pandora app and open it up again, with it returning to the same song, just paused. Again, iSave is not new to iPhones. So even with multitasking, Pandora was actually fully closed (reset) because it had been a while since I used it.

So no, all these icons we see on our multitasking bar does *not* mean they're running in the background, even if they can run in the background. They're simply there as both a "history" of the apps you opened (for quick access), and also access to multitasking programs.

To answer your question, there's no need to "now close out apps" because really, apps function the same way as before. You don't need to close apps because they aren't running. Don't want Pandora to run in the background? Simple, pause the audio and forget it. For apps that become multitasking aware, such as a GPS navigation app and won't have a real "off" function, then you can close them out the way I described above (unless they include a "close" function in the app).

Remember, iOS 4.0 isn't like Android or Windows Mobile or Palm OS or any'a that crap. It functions the same great away as before. So don't treat apps as something that need to be closed. Just use your iPhone like you did before 'cuz it's all good...

Peace, JBB