This seems sill buy, how do I close an app!?

[ShaneN.]

I've never had anything but blackberries so this is a learning curve but it seems like either the back button or the home button will take you to where you want to go next, however that leaves the apps running. So if I'm in an app I can hit the left button at the bottom to open recent apps and then flick left or right to close it but that's a pain in the *** to do every time I use an app. Is there not a way to close the app when you're done with it? I just came from a blackberry z10 and after the app was minimized you could hit a little X on the corner. Some of my friends said just leave them running but the OCD gets the better part of me and I want everything closed after I leave it lol.

Also, I asked in another section but maybe someone will see this - Is there an application that will combine both texts and BBM's so I don't have togo back and forth between text and bbm? That's the only major negative I'm finding, I miss my unified inbox for incoming messages. Email and facebook are fine separate.

 

[ultravisitor]

however that leaves the apps running.

Android is not BlackBerry. Apps are intended to remain open by design. Let the OS manage them on its own.

Multitasking the Android Way | Android Developers Blog

 

[AZgl1500]

I however do not buy into the 'stock android' train of thought.

I have proven that closing the apps does improve battery life. If they are NOT running in the background, they will not be using battery power.

Two ways to close an app. Use the right 'back button' repeatedly until the app closes, or as I do, when you have finished up a session with the phone and you want to lay it down. I hit the Double Menu button once to bring up the running Apps List and then touch 'close all'.

I also do something that most folks don't. I manually control when the phone is able to connect to the internet (the outside world). I use Battery Doctor's Switcher Widget to bring up a window where I can turn OFF everything that I don't want to leave running.

If the phone is idle for extended periods of time, my method will produce extremely long battery life cycles. Carried to a real extreme I can get 5 or 6 days per charge. but, this is NOT normal use. It would be like if I am out camping away from any power sources.

My "real life" situation is that I use the Switcher to turn everything off and then lay the phone on the Qi wireless charging pad when it gets low enough to need that. In fact, I just did that as it is 3 AM and the phone has not been charged in about 2.5 days (0500 hours on Thursday morning) as I left for work.

Today being a holiday (um, Friday the 4th), it was used to send a few text messages. No phone calls at all.

My phone does not have any video games on it period, I am not a gamer. I do not enjoy them.
I read the news, I surf the forums, and that is about it.

My GPS is always ON and in High Accuracy Mode. I had determined after much experimentation that the GPS does NOT use enough power to even be concerned about if it is ON or OFF. The only way the GPS receiver will enter into high battery use, is if you have apps running that want to talk to it, and then send your location to a web host. That is how phone batteries use lots of power, talking to the internet via DATA. WiFi does not use enough battery power to be really concerned about it. I just turn it off to stop apps from talking period.

I use the camera a lot, and having the GPS on all the time lets the camera get my location instantly. I have a job that needs location documentation with the pictures.

More than you asked for, but just wanted to round out "one scenario" of closing apps, and why I do it "my way".

The battery doctor switcher widget can be seen in the screenshot.

 

[ShaneN.]

If I hit the back button when in an app, doesn't it just simply go back to where you were (maybe home page) but minimize the app down into running apps?

i don't know if it's 7-8 years of blackberries or a bit of OCD, or both, but after I'm done with an app I have to close it. I'm trying to get past that. Now if only I could combine incoming tests and bbm messages into the same folder.

 

[JudH]

If I hit the back button when in an app, doesn't it just simply go back to where you were (maybe home page) but minimize the app down into running apps?

It depends Unlike home, it's the app that's responding to the back button. What they do with it is up to the app. MOST apps will completely close when you repeatedly back out. Some will even say something like "press back again to exit". Some, like music apps, will stay running unless you tap their "exit" button either on their current screen or buried in their menu. A few will suspend and the ops will close them as needed for space, I.e. the oft reported "let Android manage closing apps". The problem is the even fewer apps that stay in background and "do" things occasionally like "call mama" using your data. Play Store (even with auto update off) and Maps being examples of those--often if you swipe them away they'll restart. I force close those guys when I know I'm not going to need them again soon.

Apps get notified when you switch away by pressing Home also. A few will close anyway but most will attempt to stay in background and resume exactly where they were.

 

[AZgl1500]

It depends Unlike home, it's the app that's responding to the back button. What they do with it is up to the app. MOST apps will completely close when you repeatedly back out. Some will even say something like "press back again to exit". Some, like music apps, will stay running unless you tap their "exit" button either on their current screen or buried in their menu. A few will suspend and the ops will close them as needed for space, I.e. the oft reported "let Android manage closing apps". The problem is the even fewer apps that stay in background and "do" things occasionally like "call mama" using your data. Play Store (even with auto update off) and Maps being examples of those--often if you swipe them away they'll restart. I force close those guys when I know I'm not going to need them again soon.

Apps get notified when you switch away by pressing Home also. A few will close anyway but most will attempt to stay in background and resume exactly where they were.

This is exactly why I Force Close all apps when I am done with my phone.

Exiting out is no guarantee that the app will honor the exit as "closing down".
Play Store, Amazon, social apps, all stay running regardless of how much you try to tell them 'close'...

I use the Switcher Widget to turn off DATA, and WIFI. They can't talk if there is no internet to access.

Also, Battery Doctor has a Close All, Clean up widget. I use that every time I turn the phone off (lock the screen).

The "leave it alone crowd" don't like my way of doing things, they say let the Android OS handle it all.
No No, on that, that will kill the battery big time.

I am anal about my phone being idle when I want it to be idle (lockscreen locked)

 

[DennisOS2]

This is exactly why I Force Close all apps when I am done with my phone.

Exiting out is no guarantee that the app will honor the exit as "closing down".
Play Store, Amazon, social apps, all stay running regardless of how much you try to tell them 'close'...

I use the Switcher Widget to turn off DATA, and WIFI. They can't talk if there is no internet to access.

Also, Battery Doctor has a Close All, Clean up widget. I use that every time I turn the phone off (lock the screen).

The "leave it alone crowd" don't like my way of doing things, they say let the Android OS handle it all.
No No, on that, that will kill the battery big time.

I am anal about my phone being idle when I want it to be idle (lockscreen locked)

Coming into this late, but have the same issue with 'force stopping' certain apps (not closing, but killing) and then they appear back in memory. They're not open but appear as active when looking at them in the apps list of Android Assistant. Frankly, I want to control which non-system apps reside in memory. My suspicion is those non-killable apps have background functions Google allows Android to keep running despite the wishes of the device owner. We are told the reason for closing is not killing is so apps start more quickly when called upon. I don't buy that. With more memory and faster processors today apps open lightening fast without a stub of them hanging out in memory.

So, is there another legitimate reason some apps are permanently killed and others are not?