Clearing Recent Apps

[tmozer]

I religiously check the "recent apps" screen and regularly clear it by swiping the individual apps to the left. But I wondered as I did it for the umpteen time what was actually happening. By swiping the app to the left and clearing it from the recent app list am I stopping the app from running in the background, or just clearing the list?? In other words, by clearing the app list am I doing anything positive or just bookkeeping?

 

[B. Diddy]

This was the case with ICS, and I believe it still applies to Jellybean and KitKat:

What Exactly Happens When You Swipe An Android App From the Recent Apps List?

 

[tmozer]

This was the case with ICS, and I believe it still applies to Jellybean and KitKat:

What Exactly Happens When You Swipe An Android App From the Recent Apps List?

OK, cool. Looks like it continues to be a worthwhile thing to do (swiping recent apps from the list). Thanks.....

 

[Haalcyon]

Yes indeed. Thanks B.Diddy for the link.

g2 cm10.2

 

[Dave-in-Decatur]

OK, cool. Looks like it continues to be a worthwhile thing to do (swiping recent apps from the list). Thanks.....

But why does it seem worthwhile? To save memory? As I understand it, Android (unlike Windows) doesn't work that way. The OS tries to keep memory occupied, so whatever you unload, it will load something else that it thinks you'll need soon (though it may not show up in the recent apps list). That helps frequently-used apps to load without lag. This is an older column, but presumably it's still correct about how Android works: RAM: What it is, how it's used, and why you shouldn't care | Android Central.

 

[B. Diddy]

That's true also. The optimal state is probably somewhere in the middle. You may still want to close a particular app if it might end up using more CPU and battery than the app that the OS decides to replace it with.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Macktion]

I imagine that almost any amount of pre-loading will not consume as much resources as you had previously had tied up. But that's just me.

 

[Dave-in-Decatur]

That's true also. The optimal state is probably somewhere in the middle. You may still want to close a particular app if it might end up using more CPU and battery than the app that the OS decides to replace it with.

Good point. I imagine it would be good to know more (much more than I know, anyway) about how much of the phone's resources specific apps are actually using. I use this list for quick access to apps I use all the time, and I generally only clear an app out of it if it's one I don't plan to go back to anytime soon.

It's interesting that the S4 manual contains no information on how to use this list, other than how to access it. For instance, is there a difference between swiping to remove an app and long-pressing it and selecting Romve from list?

 

[B. Diddy]

It's interesting that the S4 manual contains no information on how to use this list, other than how to access it

I suspect they don't want the user to worry too much about it. I would think long pressing it and selecting Remove is the same as swiping it off, and both are different from Force Stopping it in the Settings/Apps menu.

 

[Dave-in-Decatur]

Right-o. A fine line between "the user not worrying too much about it" and "the user knowing exactly what they're doing." Funny how these companies promote themselves as "information technology" providers, and yet skimp on the information. BTW, I looked both in the Verizon manual and Samsung's generic S4 manual. Both tell how to access the list, the latter tells how to go to an app from it, but neither talks about the list's other features.