Low iPhone battery? Why closing apps won't help.
An Apple executive has responded to one of the iPhone's biggest mysteries: "Does shutting down apps open in the background help save battery power?" The answer was no, but these tips will.聽
An Apple executive has responded to one of the iPhone's biggest mysteries: "Does shutting down apps open in the background help save battery power?" The answer was no, but these tips will.聽
Closing unused iPhone apps won鈥檛 fix help the phone鈥檚 battery life, Apple says.
On Monday, Apple iOS chief Craig Federighi responded to a customer email asking if shutting down apps in the background was necessary to preserve battery life on iPhones. The answer was a succinct, 鈥淣o鈥� 鈥� big news for many iPhone users who endure the tedious process of double-clicking the home button and swiping up on each individual open app to fully close them. The email exchange was posted on 9to5Mac.聽
The iPhone has garnered a reputation for having a short battery life, spurred by instances of battery issues after some iOS updates and a transition to a smaller battery from the iPhone 6 to the newer iPhone 6s, according to Tech Times. 聽
Shutting down running iPhone apps that are not being used does not effectively help save battery life because those apps already stopped using the phone鈥檚 resources after being pushed to the background, as former Genius Bar worker and writer Scotty Loveless explained for LifeHacker in 2014:
Mr. Loveless goes on to say that fully shutting down apps could actually cause a net drain in battery life, as it forces iPhones to reopen the program and all peripheral programs from scratch.
The myth that closing down apps fully could save battery on an iPhone may have been perpetuated by the technique being an effective solution for other types of smart phones.
Shutting down unused program in Android and Microsoft phones can help users save on battery life, with a few caveats, according to the BBC.
But don't worry: Apple did provide tips聽proven to preserve the battery life of an iPhone, including:
- Keep your iPhone up-to-date with the latest iOS updates
- Reduce brightness, use WiFi, and enable low battery power, a new iOS 9 feature, when the battery is low
- Don't expose your phone to temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheit
- Take your phone out of its case before charging
iOS 9 also introduced improved battery usage information that can help identify apps that are taking a disproportionate about of battery power, says Apple. Battery usage information can be found on the "Settings" page under "Battery."