Apps in the background slows iOS

[shady360]

So I’ve read article after article, and even support docs directly from Apple that say leaving apps in the background does not slow down your phone. But in my experience this is totally bogus. I’m super OCD about closing apps after I used them and never seem to have issues with my phone running slow, draining battery, etc. My wife and kids though, anytime they hand me their devices ‘cause they’re locked up or lagging, they’ll have like 25 apps open in the background. I’ll close them all and then the phones go back to normal. Anyone else have this experience? And if so, why would Apple and all these other sources say there’s no impact leaving apps open?

 

[TripleOne]

Nope. I have over 60 apps in the background and I trust the software to manage it properly.

 

[anon(9602380)]

No issues here. I generally will have between 25-40 apps running. My phone still runs smoothly.

 

[John Yester]

No issues here, rarely close apps now. But I used to always flip them away to close. but not anymore.

 

[Tartarus]

iOS in general and iPhone in particular does not have true multitasking.
This means that once an app is not visible on the screen, it doesn’t fully run in the background. Some even completely stop working.

The few apps that do run in the background are listed in the Settings > General > Background App Refresh section.

That feeling you have is most certainly a placebo effect. Either try beating it or keep doing what you do, there is no winner and no loser here. It is your device and you get to decide how to use it.

 

[chippy19977]

I never close apps unless an app itself becomes unresponsive. Phone has always worked great. iOS is designed to have apps “open” in the background, but the phone’s resources only tap into what it needs to which is not most of the apps running in the background.

 

[Blackcash]

You can add me to the group of not flicking away apps. I haven't noticed any slow downs because of it.

 

[scruffypig]

No issues here either. I don’t close app at all. Apps aren’t open in the background, unless they are audio apps or apps like that, they are suspended and not running.

 

[Just_Me_D]

So I’ve read article after article, and even support docs directly from Apple that say leaving apps in the background does not slow down your phone. But in my experience this is totally bogus. I’m super OCD about closing apps after I used them and never seem to have issues with my phone running slow, draining battery, etc. My wife and kids though, anytime they hand me their devices ‘cause they’re locked up or lagging, they’ll have like 25 apps open in the background. I’ll close them all and then the phones go back to normal. Anyone else have this experience? And if so, why would Apple and all these other sources say there’s no impact leaving apps open?

What they are experiencing is not the norm. Having said that, it doesn’t mean that some of their apps (specifically those that are abnormally ad-based) aren’t hogging the resources and causing the lag.

 

[Lee_Bo]

No issues here. About the only time I close a background app is if that app is acting strange.

 

[metllicamilitia]

I don’t have issues with open apps either. I always close out Facebook and Facebook owned apps because they aren’t very battery friendly. I also close out Pokémon Go because it doesn’t like to work quickly when left open, so I close it so it refreshes everything when I open it. Otherwise I keep my apps open and don’t have any lagging or slowness.

 

[Ledsteplin]

No issues on my 6s Plus with apps in the background slowing anything down. I get an occasional app to misbehave, and swipe that one app out.

 

[kataran]

Try changing your habit and utilize the App switching feature and you will find you get a lot more done on your device in a short time

 

[msm0511]

It could just be a specific app or apps that your family is using that's causing problems. As @metllicamilitia mentioned FB owned apps are pretty bad about using resources they don't need, and many apps that use location tend to work for a bit in the background. If your family is using several apps close together (Facebook, then SnapChat, then Twitter), maybe these apps are clogging up RAM b/c they all use location data that uses more RAM.

 

[Raptor007]

Like the I can be a bit OCD but honestly I can have 15+ apps open in the background on my X and I never see any performance issues. I tend to forget that I have apps open and sometimes they are something I used once that day and forgot about it.

 

[MaxSmarties]

Apps reported in the multitasking view aren’t really “running in background “. Some process may be, but most of them are suspended in a freeze state or even closed.
A specific app could be misbehaving in background, causing the issue you are describing

 

[SprSynJn]

Apps reported in the multitasking view aren’t really “running in background “. Some process may be, but most of them are suspended in a freeze state or even closed.
A specific app could be misbehaving in background, causing the issue you are describing

This has been confirmed by  multiple times and yet people still claim they have 20 or so apps running in the background and will continue to “close” every app in the multitasking view. Why? I don’t get it.

 

[MaxSmarties]

This has been confirmed by  multiple times and yet people still claim they have 20 or so apps running in the background and will continue to “close” every app in the multitasking view. Why? I don’t get it.

Don’t tell me. I think it is mostly about habits, and perceived sensations. My wife keep closing everything every time she use her iPhone. It is verging OCD...

 

[Sherry_B]

Apologies, I know the thread is a week or more old, but...

I see people say they're closing out battery intensive apps. I was under the impression that these apps check for updates in the background regardless of whether or not they're sitting in cache. Closing them out only means they'll use more system resources to open them back up again.

I would think leaving them be and allowing them to sit cached like Apple intended would be the wisest choice. Either that, or disable them from running in the background altogether.

Facebook and other battery hogs are always going to be battery hogs. Any app that connects to such a huge social media base has a ton to update. That's the nature of social media.... if it's a successful business it's always going to be refreshing with new posts.

 

[Wotchered]

I agree that closing apps speeds up devices,particularly older ones.My 4S and gen3 iPad both show a marked improvement when running apps and open webpages are closed, my gen 5 not noticeably.