Nova Launcher and "Active applications" widget inconsistency

[gfroy91]

Anyone running the nova launcher with the active apps widget that came with the phone? I like to keep this widget on my home screen just so I can quickly see if I have any apps that I need to "end". Problem is, the widget mostly says that I have 0 apps running when I know that's incorrect. I'll then choose the widget and it sure enough takes me to the task manager and I'll in fact have a couple of apps running. It's been inconsistent with it's display ever since I downloaded nova yesterday. Works fine with touchwiz, but so far it's been inconsistent with nova launcher. Anyone else having this issue? Any fixes?

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Anyone running the nova launcher with the active apps widget that came with the phone? I like to keep this widget on my home screen just so I can quickly see if I have any apps that I need to "end". Problem is, the widget mostly says that I have 0 apps running when I know that's incorrect. I'll then choose the widget and it sure enough takes me to the task manager and I'll in fact have a couple of apps running. It's been inconsistent with it's display ever since I downloaded nova yesterday. Works fine with touchwiz, but so far it's been inconsistent with nova launcher. Anyone else having this issue? Any fixes?

I have noticed that it doesn't sync very well. It's not uncommon for widgets intended for use with OEM skins to not work properly (if at all) using 3rd party launchers.

My advice, however, is not to worry so much about what apps are running or killing them. Android, at this stage in the game, does a pretty good job on it's own with resources, and often stopping apps manually does more harm than good. Obviously there are exceptions, and going in every now and then and killing unnecessary apps probably isn't a bad idea, but there's really no need to be constantly focused on it (like there was with older versions of Android). I generally just try to remember to reboot my phone every day or so to keep it fresh and past that don't really worry about it.

 

[gfroy91]

Thanks for your help but I guess that leads me to another question. The typical apps I "end" are usually ones like internet, gallery, camera, clock, etc. How come these applications don't just end themselves once I have finished using them? For example, I'll use the internet for something and when I either back out of it or hit the home button, the internet will still be an "active application". Same goes for the others like the camera and gallery. How come these apps, as well as a few others don't simply end themselves once I have backed out or stopped using them?

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Thanks for your help but I guess that leads me to another question. The typical apps I "end" are usually ones like internet, gallery, camera, clock, etc. How come these applications don't just end themselves once I have finished using them? For example, I'll use the internet for something and when I either back out of it or hit the home button, the internet will still be an "active application". Same goes for the others like the camera and gallery. How come these apps, as well as a few others don't simply end themselves once I have backed out or stopped using them?

Normally because these are frequently used applications, so by default Android keeps them loaded in memory. If you check the actual CPU usage for these apps (which is what consumes power) when they are dormant, it's generally around zero. Unlike Windows OS, Android tends to run high on RAM usage, because it keeps frequent apps loaded for quick access. There's nothing wrong with this, memory is only as good as the apps that use it and the ability of the OS to manage RAM for new apps that need it...which Android actually does pretty well. The apps you need to kill are the ones that actually "RUN" in the background when they're not supposed to, using CPU cycles and consuming power...but just because an app is running, doesn't mean that it's a problem. In fact, killing commonly used apps, like many of those you mentioned, actually consume more power because each time they're accessed they have to be completely reloaded, as opposed to just "waking up" from standby.