Tech Tip: Battery Myths – The App Switcher

Welcome to Battery Myths, a new series of tech tips from ITS about how your phone’s battery REALLY works. This first part debunks the idea that closing apps from the app switcher preserves battery power.

The app switcher is the function found on smartphones that allows you to swipe between recently opened apps. Many people have heard that closing apps that you’re not currently using from the app switcher helps preserve battery life and RAM. Unfortunately, this is a misconception that actually does the opposite of what it’s supposed to do.

Basically, your phone knows what it’s doing, and it’s been programmed to divert power away from apps that aren’t being used. Force-quitting these apps forces your phone to expend extra energy, rather than leaving that power for other apps to use.

Adapted from http://www.wired.com/2016/03/closing-apps-save-battery-makes-things-worse/.