Apple confirms swiping apps closed doesn't save you battery life

Millions of users choose to close all of their background apps on an iPhone in hopes of saving battery life, but that strategy doesn't work.

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Many members of the younger generation cringe when they get a hold of a parents phone as they quickly realize that parent doesn't close apps once they are done using it, leading to the assumption they are wasting battery life. But what if I told you that assumption was wrong?

Apple confirms swiping apps closed doesn't save you battery life 656561

Or at least it is for iPhone users. Users around the world are always looking for more ways to save battery, and one of those strategies is closing every app after use is done or in a large fell swoop every now and again. 9to5MacApple reports iOS chief Craig Federighi answered a question about if closing apps saved battery, to which he said, "no and no". Additionally, Apple's own support pages state that force-quitting an app should only be done if the app stops responding or is freezing.

Why is this the case? iOS is simply that good. Quitting apps seeming like the logical thing to do to save battery life is based on the presumption that more apps running in the background = more battery being drained. This isn't the case for iOS, as Apple's operating system freezes background apps, suspending any resources they demand to run, meaning background apps don't impact battery once they aren't being used (unless they have background processes such as GPS tracking or background music playing).

There is also the case that closing apps via the swipe up gesture may reduce the device's battery more than them being left alone, as the iPhone's CPU requires more energy to close the app than to leave it frozen, according to UniLad.

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Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms. Instead of typical FPS, Jak holds a very special spot in his heart for RTS games.

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