[mohit9206]

I am using these battery saver and speed boosting apps and they don't seem to be working. Currently using DU battery saver and speed booster and i don't see any speed boosting or battery life improvements. Do these apps even work? They are good for cache clearing but other than that i dont see any benefits. Do you use such apps and has it made a difference? Would you recommend such apps and if so which ones work the best? Millions of people download these apps but the jury is still out on their effectiveness and their cons like consuming too much ram, slowing the phone down and basically doing opposite of what they are supposed to do.

[Rukbat]

ANY app that claims to clean unused background apps out of RAM is saying that the developer doesn't understand how Android works - and I wouldn't allow an app written by someone like that on my phone. (The developer of a piece of software knows how it's supposed to work better than anyone else can. Read Multitasking the Android Way - by a Google software engineer - and you'll see why cleaning apps out of RAM is the opposite of what's supposed to be done.)

You can clear the cache in seconds (Settings/General/Storage/Cache).

Greenify works. It keeps apps from running unless you run them. (So you don't want to Greenify Phone, email, texting, etc.) Of course any app uses RAM and battery, but if it saves more battery (and RAM, in some cases) than it uses, it's a good thing. (Android handles RAM, so unless you have to have a few large apps running at the same time, or you have a phone with a small amount of RAM, RAM isn't something to worry about. Battery consumption is, and you don't save battery by "removing" apps from RAM - when they're not running, which is what some of these apps do.)

[B. Diddy]

Most battery savers or "speed boosters" on the market won't do a whole lot, since they tend to rely on killing open apps. This can actually be counterproductive, since killing an app will usually lead to it opening automatically again, since that's how Android works. If the task killer is automatically killing apps, then you can get into a cycle of killing and reopening that drains battery in itself (or at least negates the effect of killing the app). Battery savers can also modify other battery-draining features like your wi-fi and Bluetooth radios, but these are settings you can modify yourself, without the need of an extra app.

Greenify seems to be one of the better apps out there, since it focuses on freezing apps rather than killing them. Some features may requiring rooting. You could also consider Tasker or MacroDroid to automate certain settings changes depending on location or time of day.

Edit: GAH! Once again, Rukbat beat me to the punch by a minute.

[mohit9206]

Thanks for the answers. What about antivirus apps? Should i bother installing one of the good free ones if i sideload apps and download stuff from the web frequently?

[B. Diddy]

Since Google can scan all of the apps on your device (in Google Settings>Security>Verify Apps), a 3rd party antivirus app is not completely necessary, although some people do prefer to have the added protection. If you do use an antivirus app, make sure it's reputable, well-reviewed by tech writers (and not just Google Play reviews, which might be planted), and proven to be effective. AV-test.org is one of the best resources: Test antivirus software for Android - November 2014 | AV-TEST

Be aware that some antivirus apps can slow the system down or use up more battery.

[Rukbat]

I prefer a good antivirus app since not only does it add protection to the web browsers, it eliminates pressing one more button during the installation of an app and if you're like me, and constantly changing ROMs, pressing that one button - 300 times every time you change a ROM - takes a lot of time. (Yeah, I have almost 300 apps installed most of the time.)

[B. Diddy]

Good point. Antivirus apps also often have nice additional antitheft features. Lookout has a feature where if someone fails the unlock code or pattern more than 3 times, it takes a picture with the front-facing camera and emails it to you, letting you know that the ugly mug pictured in the email just tried to unlock your phone unsuccessfully.

[zynigma]

They definitely do. I use Clean Master, it reminds me which processes are still running and it tells me how long it's been since I've used a certain apps so I can delete them. It has more features, but I've never used them.

[Crashdamage]

You are not supposed to need to manually close apps, use task killers or worry about RAM, running processes, etc.

And I don't. I let Android handle everything automatically as intended. All of our devices run smoothly, reliably and battery drain is fine. We just use them.

Now, if an app is poorly coded, you're running an old, outdated version of Android or a low-spec device all may not be so nice. But on reasonably capable hardware and Android 4 or above, trying to micromanage operation is often counterproductive or worse. Task killers are particularly evil.

In certain, special cases something like Greenify might have some value. But for the majority of users so-called 'battery savers' often use more power than they save. Boosters, optimizers, task killers - just about all such stuff is simply snake oil. Worse than worthless, they're probably eating your battery. Uninstall them!

Android since v1.0. Linux user since 2001.

[iknockout]

It really depends on the app. Some are superficious and few of them implement real techniques to save battery. Try each one for few days and then decide for yourself.