Tag: iphone 4.0

The iOS multitasking bar does not display all running apps? Say what?

Rubens Saintel

20120107-013429.jpg

So I will be the first to admit when I make a mistake. It seems I was wrong when it comes to the multitasking apps bar on your iOS device. To be fair I am not the only one that has been wrong about this subject.

What I have always heard and have taught other people is that the apps on the multitasking bar are all running and slowing it down. They are using the device’s memory and killing the battery life just like Android. You should turn them all off.

This is 100% Wrong. While it may make you feel better to turn these off it does not however save or hurt battery life. The iOS multitasking bar does not display all running apps. It is not like the task manager you see on the PC. Instead it is a list of recently used apps. So you don’t have to worry about managing background tasks on iOS. When you press the home button, iOS will tell the app to quit. When it quits, it stops using CPU time and the battery. The memory the app was using is recovered. The Mail and Phone apps run at all times.

iOS apps 5 states of execution:

  1. Not running – the app has been terminated or has not been launched.
  2. Inactive – the app is open but not doing anything, receiving any data or sending any
  3. Active – the app is in use
  4. Background – the app is no longer on-screen but still running.
… Read the rest