"Running apps" removed in Marshmallow? WHY?

[TamlinFTW]

In the "Recent Apps" page there has always been the option to tap the "..." button in the top right and then choose "Running Apps" to go to a list of all currently running processes on the device. I use this frequently when apps such as Facebook, Skype or other programs are still running in the background and using up resources, in order to stop these processes manually.

This "Running Apps" option is still there under the "..." button, but since the Marshmallow update, tapping "Running Apps" no longer takes you to a list of running processes! Instead it takes you to the general Apps list, showing all installed apps on the device whether they are running or not!

First of all, calling this option "Running Apps" is now a blatant lie. It does NOT show "Running Apps" at all! Why keep this name for a feature that now doesn't do what it claims to do??

Second, why remove this feature to begin with??? It was a great feature and I used it often!

Third, I found that the feature itself still does exist in the system, but in order to access it you need to enable Developer mode on the device, then go to Settings -> Developer options -> Running services. There you find the exact same list of currently active processes that the "Running Apps" quick-link used to take you to.

Just... WHY???

This, and the fact that the overall performance of my device is very noticeably worse now than before the Marshmallow update, just makes me want to revert to a previous version of the system. The purpose of an update should NOT and should NEVER be to make a device perform worse, or to make useful features of the system less accessible! What the H were the developers of this update even thinking?

 

[Golfdriver97]

Welcome to the forums.

I use this frequently when apps such as Facebook, Skype or other programs are still running in the background and using up resources, in order to stop these processes manually.

Second, why remove this feature to begin with???

Something to keep in mind is this: Android is not like Windows when it comes to RAM. Where Windows likes having a lot of RAM on standby, Android likes having RAM full. So having the list of apps in Memory can encourage users to employ task killers which on Android is counter productive.

For more info:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ambassador-guides-tips-how-s/380592-guide-ram-android.html

 

[puch96]

In the "Recent Apps" page there has always been the option to tap the "..." button in the top right and then choose "Running Apps" to go to a list of all currently running processes on the device. I use this frequently when apps such as Facebook, Skype or other programs are still running in the background and using up resources, in order to stop these processes manually.

This "Running Apps" option is still there under the "..." button, but since the Marshmallow update, tapping "Running Apps" no longer takes you to a list of running processes! Instead it takes you to the general Apps list, showing all installed apps on the device whether they are running or not!

First of all, calling this option "Running Apps" is now a blatant lie. It does NOT show "Running Apps" at all! Why keep this name for a feature that now doesn't do what it claims to do??

Second, why remove this feature to begin with??? It was a great feature and I used it often!

Third, I found that the feature itself still does exist in the system, but in order to access it you need to enable Developer mode on the device, then go to Settings -> Developer options -> Running services. There you find the exact same list of currently active processes that the "Running Apps" quick-link used to take you to.

Just... WHY???

This, and the fact that the overall performance of my device is very noticeably worse now than before the Marshmallow update, just makes me want to revert to a previous version of the system. The purpose of an update should NOT and should NEVER be to make a device perform worse, or to make useful features of the system less accessible! What the H were the developers of this update even thinking?

This has not been removed. It is now under developer settings. Under developer settings you will see running services which will show you all running apps..

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: "Running apps" removed in Marshmallow? WHY?

As puch96 pointed out it has not been totally removed, but it is hidden away. This is because it's unnecessary and poor practice. Android is quite capable of handling running processes if allowed to. Manually interfering can actually result in poorer performance. For more please see this:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?p=4655557

As for Marshmallow performance, I've had very good results. We have several devices running 6.0 and all run it very well. Even the old Nexus 4 I'm typing this with runs 6.0 smooth and fast.

Some apps are just hogs and can make anything run worse. Facebook and Skype are two of the worst offenders. I suggest uninstalling Facebook and accessing it with a browser like Firefox. It's actually better than using the horribly bloated and slow Facebook app. Skype is a mess. If you don't have to stay logged in, don't. Sign out and things will normalize.

 

[mwake4goten]

Yes, if your having problems have you wiped the cache partition under recovery? That could help solve some issues...I find marshmallow so much better than lollipop but I remember I was told that carrier networks also have an input with regard to operating systems. For example, HTC One m8 under Sprint might have better performance than HTC One m8 under Verizon because of carrier modifications to marshmallow. This was definitely the case for me with lollipop, whilst everyone was happy and loving lollipop my HTC One m8 performance under Rogers sucked, I was pleasantly surprised to see marshmallow has restored kitkat like performance back to my phone...

 

[Super Dave426]

Under Advanced in the Developer Options there is a Don't Keep Activities, claims to destroy every activity as soon as the user leaves it. Seems a little harsh.

 

[TamlinFTW]

Something to keep in mind is this: Android is not like Windows when it comes to RAM. Where Windows likes having a lot of RAM on standby, Android likes having RAM full. So having the list of apps in Memory can encourage users to employ task killers which on Android is counter productive.

That's an interesting point. However, it is not just a matter of device performance, it is also a matter of bandwidth usage for users such as myself with limited data plans. Some processes keep using bandwidth if allowed to run in the background, and will suck up my monthly data much faster than is preferrable.

This has not been removed. It is now under developer settings. Under developer settings you will see running services which will show you all running apps..

Yes, I know, I mentioned this in my post as well. But this is much less easily accessible.

As for Marshmallow performance, I've had very good results. We have several devices running 6.0 and all run it very well. Even the old Nexus 4 I'm typing this with runs 6.0 smooth and fast.

At the moment I am playing a bit of Fallout Shelter, and I noticed a very clear drop in performance after the Marshmallow update.

Skype is a mess. If you don't have to stay logged in, don't. Sign out and things will normalize.

Yes, nowadays I actually fully disable the Skype app when I am not using it, since it is for some reason impossible to fully disable notifications even when signed out.

 

[Golfdriver97]

it is also a matter of bandwidth usage for users such as myself with limited data plans

You can turn off background data which should limit excessive data use.

 

[Crashdamage]

Re: "Running apps" removed in Marshmallow? WHY?

That's an interesting point. However, it is not just a matter of device performance, it is also a matter of bandwidth usage for users such as myself with limited data plans. Some processes keep using bandwidth if allowed to run in the background, and will suck up my monthly data much faster than is preferrable.


At the moment I am playing a bit of Fallout Shelter, and I noticed a very clear drop in performance after the Marshmallow update.

Yes, nowadays I actually fully disable the Skype app when I am not using it, since it is for some reason impossible to fully disable notifications even when signed out.

I leave mobile data, location, WiFi, pretty much everything enabled but I'm on WiFi almost all the time. Background processes do run but use very little data. I've never had a phone that used much, never had to worry about it. If a high amount of data is being used find the culprit and fix it.

Skype is a piece of crap. But I just do a simple sign out and that seems to be enough. It still idles along but doesn't use much system resources or data. But...I've only had it installed for a few days. We'll see how it goes.

I could swear devices (all Nexus) run better on 6.0. All of them except the. Nexus 4 I'm using right now are stock, unrooted and got 6.0 via OTA upgrades. None have had anything done to cache files, no resets, nothing. They're running great.

 

[LeoRex]

At the moment I am playing a bit of Fallout Shelter, and I noticed a very clear drop in performance after the Marshmallow update.

But that could just as easily be Bethesda's issue, not the operating system. Even the quickest, smoothest operating system in the world is no match for a poorly running app not optimized/built to run on it.

The 'running apps' tool was most definitely buried in developer options... Google recognized that a lot of people were still holding on to versions-old practices... one of those was obsessively closing apps out of memory. People would see all those apps and tweak and start whole-sale closing. Slowly, the word is getting out to people that it actually works against them.

Granted, there are exceptions... there are some garbage apps that are outliers, ones that cause problems, run in the background for not good reason and waste every resource on the phone *cough*facebook*cough*.... but there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. The 'memory used in the last XXX' gives the user a bit of information without presenting it in a way that frames things as "USING MEMORY IS EVIL!"

 

[Daculprit]

That's an interesting point. However, it is not just a matter of device performance, it is also a matter of bandwidth usage for users such as myself with limited data plans. Some processes keep using bandwidth if allowed to run in the background, and will suck up my monthly data much faster than is preferrable.



Yes, I know, I mentioned this in my post as well. But this is much less easily accessible.



At the moment I am playing a bit of Fallout Shelter, and I noticed a very clear drop in performance after the Marshmallow update.



Yes, nowadays I actually fully disable the Skype app when I am not using it, since it is for some reason impossible to fully disable notifications even when signed out.

I'm not sure who your service provider is, but has you performance dropped in general too? I'm on Verizon and since the update my phone is pretty much a brick. I don't have much installed, but since the update my phone is barely responsive. It can take 45 seconds plus to answer a call after swiping up. Sometimes I completely miss on I answered on the first ring. Sometimes when my alarm goes off I'll go to turn it off swipe the dismiss and it will continue going off, the screen will go all white or all black for a solid minute then either open to the homescreen with the alarm going off or the lock screen with the alarm still going off. Which just starts the process over again, if I goes to the home screen swiping down to get to the tray to turn the alarm off can lock up the phone for 30-45+ seconds, black or white the screen out and can cause it too lock again while I'm waiting and yet again in the same boat. This happens with every app I open or anything I do and it's become unbearable.

Luckily I'm up for an upgrade but I'm not sure if I want to even buy another HTC. I was really looking for to the 10 and was going to wait until it was released, but this is starting to effect my ability to conduct business.

 

[Jayson Smith]

In the "Recent Apps" page there has always been the option to tap the "..." button in the top right and then choose "Running Apps" to go to a list of all currently running processes on the device. I use this frequently when apps such as Facebook, Skype or other programs are still running in the background and using up resources, in order to stop these processes manually.

This "Running Apps" option is still there under the "..." button, but since the Marshmallow update, tapping "Running Apps" no longer takes you to a list of running processes! Instead it takes you to the general Apps list, showing all installed apps on the device whether they are running or not!

First of all, calling this option "Running Apps" is now a blatant lie. It does NOT show "Running Apps" at all! Why keep this name for a feature that now doesn't do what it claims to do??

Second, why remove this feature to begin with??? It was a great feature and I used it often!

Third, I found that the feature itself still does exist in the system, but in order to access it you need to enable Developer mode on the device, then go to Settings -> Developer options -> Running services. There you find the exact same list of currently active processes that the "Running Apps" quick-link used to take you to.

Just... WHY???

This, and the fact that the overall performance of my device is very noticeably worse now than before the Marshmallow update, just makes me want to revert to a previous version of the system. The purpose of an update should NOT and should NEVER be to make a device perform worse, or to make useful features of the system less accessible! What the H were the developers of this update even thinking?

It is now located in developer options. Lord knows why though.

 

[sleerf]

Re: "Running apps" removed in Marshmallow? WHY?

As puch96 pointed out it has not been totally removed, but it is hidden away. This is because it's unnecessary and poor practice. Android is quite capable of handling running processes if allowed to. Manually interfering can actually result in poorer performance. For more please see this:

Anyone use battery doctor? - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

As for Marshmallow performance, I've had very good results. We have several devices running 6.0 and all run it very well. Even the old Nexus 4 I'm typing this with runs 6.0 smooth and fast.

Some apps are just hogs and can make anything run worse. Facebook and Skype are two of the worst offenders. I suggest uninstalling Facebook and accessing it with a browser like Firefox. It's actually better than using the horribly bloated and slow Facebook app. Skype is a mess. If you don't have to stay logged in, don't. Sign out and things will normalize.

Answers like this are what drive me nuts about the state of software development the last few years. It simply shouldn't matter if it's more or less efficient to normally shut down programs yourself or to let the automated system do it. The point is it's my device and if I want to shutdown a program I should be able to with little difficulty. I could want to for any number of reasons. Troubleshooting to identify a bad app for instance. When it comes to memory management, of course having something loaded into RAM already is faster than waiting for something to load into ram. But when apps you don't even use launch themselves automatically an occupy RAM for no reason and your memory get nearly full, if you want to run an app end up having to wait for the system too close an app before your app can load. And if I want to kill Facebook because it's a hog I should be able to kill Facebook. I should be able to run the hog when I want to run the hog and shut it off when I want it off. It's not freaking rocket science here.

 

[Javier P]

Re: "Running apps" removed in Marshmallow? WHY?

Answers like this are what drive me nuts about the state of software development the last few years. It simply shouldn't matter if it's more or less efficient to normally shut down programs yourself or to let the automated system do it. The point is it's my device and if I want to shutdown a program I should be able to with little difficulty. I could want to for any number of reasons. Troubleshooting to identify a bad app for instance. When it comes to memory management, of course having something loaded into RAM already is faster than waiting for something to load into ram. But when apps you don't even use launch themselves automatically an occupy RAM for no reason and your memory get nearly full, if you want to run an app end up having to wait for the system too close an app before your app can load. And if I want to kill Facebook because it's a hog I should be able to kill Facebook. I should be able to run the hog when I want to run the hog and shut it off when I want it off. It's not freaking rocket science here.

Unfortunately Crashdamage can't reply to your post, so I'll try on his behalf. I agree with him, "manual interfering" can result on a poorer performance, but I also agree with you, you should be able to do whatever you want. And the thing is that you still can, so I'm not sure what you're complaining about.

You can kill/force stop an app from different places. From your app manager (settings - apps) and from settings - memory - apps usage. The only difference after Marshmallow is that the 'running apps' are now under the Developer options. If you like using this option (as I do) you just need to enable them. And if you go there very often you can even create a shortcut to reduce the number of clicks needed. Not exactly 'rocket science'.

Let us know if you need any extra help to set your phone the way you want.

 

[bella304]

Unfortunately Crashdamage can't reply to your post, so I'll try on his behalf. I agree with him, "manual interfering" can result on a poorer performance, but I also agree with you, you should be able to do whatever you want. And the thing is that you still can, so I'm not sure what you're complaining about.

You can kill/force stop an app from different places. From your app manager (settings - apps) and from settings - memory - apps usage. The only difference after Marshmallow is that the 'running apps' are now under the Developer options. If you like using this option (as I do) you just need to enable them. And if you go there very often you can even create a shortcut to reduce the number of clicks needed. Not exactly 'rocket science'.

Let us know if you need any extra help to set your phone the way you want.

I tried the "disable" and it won't allow. I tried force stop, only to have it start back up on its own. My security scan keeps telling me it has found a medium threat, "mobile tracker" , click to remove. Only it doesn't allow me to. It's not in my apps, I found it under System Apps. Apparently it's been on there since June 2, 2016. Called Verizon, they suggested I do factory reset. Also, I found a few more that started the same day, KNOX, KNOX AGENT. Could these be part of the new, "Find My Phone" App? I don't have that app or want that app but did read something about Samsung rolling it out. None of them are able to uninstall, no permissions needed, etc. And I recently started having battery life issues??
Any suggestions?? (Using the Samsung Galaxy S5)with current updates.

 

[Cold kyle]

I totally disagree. Since marshmallow, task killers don't work and my battery get demolished way way way faster. Before when ram was cleared regularly my phone was way faster and battery lasted. This is on lg g4 and Samsung note 3. With screen off and me sleeping battery gets wasted overnight. Upon checking battery usage it always says android os and android system. Before marshmallow I would wake up in the morning with over 90 percent battery. Android does NOT do well with my ram full. Please let us use task killers again!!!

 

[jurab]

I feel the pain too. Did some research and found this which worked.
Here is the way to add Developers Option and Re-Enable these features.
How to Access Android’s List of Running Apps in 6.0 Marshmallow and Above
# Now if Only I can fix the Note 4, from rebooting constantly (even after deleting the cache partition!) since yesterday's Marchmellow update from ATT.... ###