iOS 5 and iPhone 4S

Yeah, once they introduced multitasking iOS, it's just like a Mac pretty much. Until you actually "quit" the app, it will continue to run in the background.

 

i knew i had to do it on my droid, but i never knew how to do it on my iphone

 

You really don't. The apps aren't actually running. It takes a snapshot of the apps current state and stores it in memory. There are some functions that run in the background as you know, but there are icons indicating that they are running. GPS - you'll see the arrow icon, Music - you'll see the triangle (play) icon, Data - you'll see the rotating arrows, etc. If you don't see any icons in the top info bar then the apps aren't doing anything in the background.

 

While Apple-developed apps will notify you that they are running, a ton of third-party apps will indeed still run in the background. While it won't be the main culprit, it certainly won't help your battery life.

Ironically, we're dealing with this issue on the app that we're developing now.

Fink

 

I cant wait for my iPhone 4S to get here Im going to FAP all over it

 

Fink

 

Just remembered another great AirPlay related update I noticed the other day...you can finally push videos in Safari to AppleTV. Before they had to be YouTube or already loaded on your device. CNN and pr0n on the bigscreen

 

This simply isn't true. Apps can only run for a finite time in the background (like 10 minutes) before they are suspended unless they declare themselves to the system which will display a status bar icon for whatever process they are running. If an app that is available in the app store isn't doing this then it slipped through the cracks of the review process.

From Apple's programming guide:

Implementing Long-Running Background Tasks

For tasks that require more execution time to implement, you must request specific permissions to run them in the background without their being suspended. In iOS, only specific app types are allowed to run in the background:

• Apps that play audible content to the user while in the background, such as a music player app
• Apps that keep users informed of their location at all times, such as a navigation app
• Apps that support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
• Newsstand apps that need to download and process new content
• Apps that receive regular updates from external accessories

Apps that implement these services must declare the services they support and use system frameworks to implement the relevant aspects of those services. Declaring the services lets the system know which services you use, but in some cases it is the system frameworks that actually prevent your application from being suspended.

 

yes, but for those of us that aren't updated to the 4S or 2, this is a huge deal!

 

So pretty much what I said is true. "A ton" is relative, so that could include nav apps, apps that pull location information, VoIP/SoftPhone apps etc...

I use a VoIP/SoftPhone app all day long, and it does indeed run in the background as it is set to never to time-out (requiring it to boot and connect to our server). This may be an extreme case, as I doubt many use these apps, but it does indeed suck the battery down extremely fast when I am not plugged in, or I don't have it disconnected/closed.

All I said is that Apple-developed apps are going to immediately stop services and notify you, where other apps will continue to run. Next time I will be sure get more granular.

Closing "open" applications is a good idea. It's just good computing practice, much like clearing browser cache, etc...

Fink

 

My point is if an app is running in the background in a manor that will affect the battery it will display a status icon (GPS, music, etc.). So there is no reason at all to manually close any apps unless you see an icon in the status bar that shouldn't be there.

No offense but you are stuck in old school thinking. It is unnecessary to close apps, clear cache, defrag etc. in this day and age. You are certainly welcome to, but I want people to know it's unnecessary. Doing this maintenance degrades the user experience for less technical people. I have actually come across people that switched to an android phone because they had the misconception that they had to close the apps and it was easier to do on android.

 

I handle close to 500 support calls a day, and 9/10, clearing their Temporary Internet Files and Cookies solves the issue - if it is browser-related, of course.

For the average home user, just surfing for enjoyment, they will generally not have to worry about it - you are correct there.

Just keep in mind, all I said is that closing any "open" applications will help. Meaning, if you are concerned about an app using battery, and are not aware of the indicators, then closing the apps will quash those concerns.

I think on this one, we will just have to agree to disagree.

We could go back and forth all day long on Objective C, etc...

Fink

 

Agreed. Just wanted people to see both sides of the argument. Now back to the enjoyment of iOS 5.

 

Absolutely.

No time for iOS 5 for me right now...dealing with a Runtime Error on one of our sites. FML.

Fink

 

@ Fink-Had no idea I could do that (closing the apps). I'll try restoring it again (let the computer do its thing when originally installing it) and see if that helps.

 

Just another little tidbit.

Let us know how the Restore goes!

Fink

 

I have noticed my battery goes a lot quicker on the 4s. Even if I plug it in for 7-8 hours. It never fully charges to 100%??? Anybody else notice this?

 

mine seems to last 24-30 hours.then again I've only had it for 5 days.

there is a 'battery extending' app which i looked at, but didnt buy. who knows if that really works or is just a gimmick. it was talking about a different way of stage- cycling the charging, so maybe thats what you need ?

 

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Pure gimmick rubbish on the app...don't fall for it