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Closing apps won’t save your phone battery — here’s why
Despite larger batteries and "smart" power systems, we still try to optimize smartphone battery life. This makes it easy for myths about quick ways to save battery life to spread. One of the most popular myths is related to closing apps from the recent apps list.
TechRadar writes about whether this actually helps.
Does closing apps help save your smartphone's battery?
The logic behind this myth is simple. If apps are open, they must be using energy constantly, so closing them should help the battery. The process resembles cleaning. On an iPhone, open the app switcher by swiping up or double-pressing the Home button (on iPhone 8 and older models). Then, swipe the app window up. On Android, swipe up from the bottom, hold, release, and swipe the app up.
However, force-closing apps usually doesn't save battery life. When you "kill" an app and then open it again, your phone must reload the app from scratch, which uses processor and RAM resources, as well as battery power. In other words, closing and reopening an app can use more energy than if the app were to use minimal resources in the background.
Both iOS and Android typically pause inactive apps in memory, stopping them from using the processor and battery until you return to the apps. Both systems also have built-in mechanisms that reduce background activity without user intervention. Android has Doze and App Standby, while Apple has Low Power Mode, Adaptive Power, and automatic suspension.
Why is this "hack" so popular?
In part because older smartphones were not as good at managing background processes. Also, the myth is not entirely false; exceptions do exist. Some apps can continue to run in the background even after being minimized, such as GPS navigation, video calls, and apps that constantly check for data. In such cases, closing the app can stop the battery drain. This is also relevant when an app has frozen, is draining the battery, or is using the internet or geolocation in the background.
Instead of closing all applications every day, experts recommend paying attention to factors that affect battery life. Screen brightness is one of the main battery drainers: it's worth turning on auto brightness or reducing the brightness manually. They also recommend disabling background updates where unnecessary and limiting geolocation access to apps that truly need it.
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