Disable Multitasking?

This already exists: To quit background apps from the list of running apps see:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4211

cgn wrote:
This already exists: To quit background apps from the list of running apps see:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4211

you didnt read the original post apparently.
The question was is there a way to disable multitasking so you dont HAVE to manually quit background apps.

The only case where this should be really necessary is when using GPS apps. Multitasking has not been using any extra battery or slowing the device down for me at all, however it's a different situation for apps that use GPS since they use more battery because of the GPS radio and not multitasking. Removing an app from the process manager works, but it would be nice if there were an easier method for shutting down apps that use GPS. It's the delay holding down on the icons and then needing to tap the home button once to go back to launching and then again to close the manager. Maybe icons could be just flung off of the dock after holding on them similar to what happens in OSX's dock, without entering a different mode to remove them.

It's not "just a list of recently opened apps". The apps that I have in mind are battery-draining, and I notice that the battery drains significantly faster when they are both open at the same time, hidden in the background. Another reason for me to believe that it's not "just a list of recently opened apps" is that the splash screen doesn't appear when I bring that app back into focus as it does when reopening the app after closing it with the minus sign.

Multitasking is sucking my phones will to live.

My battery is going dead in 6 to 7 hours even if I do not use it much during the day. My memory reporting app tells me that even if those background apps arent sucking CPU cycles they sure are sucking down memory.

If I go to safari and start entering text in a field (like a forum) there can be considerable delay between hitting a key and it appearing in the text field. I have to go kill all the backgrounded apps to restore safari performance to normal.

Friday my phone was dead by 1pm. And that's with me charging the phone on my car charger while traveling between job sites. I didn't even use the phone that much. Maybe 10 minutes of calls tops, and I browsed for a pdf schematic and a few other things in safari. The rest of the time the phone was idle in my pocket.

I haven't noticed a big problem with the phone being slow, but poorly implemented multitasking apps are definitely a huge battery suck. There is one in particular that can cause my phone to go from 90% battery to 10% battery in a matter of hours - something that never happened before iOS4.
In this particular case the app connects to an online game. I believe that when the game suspends, it does not shut down the conduit to the website. My completely idle phone will get physically hot (not warm, but hot) and have a nearly dead battery within 3-4 hours if I fail to manually close that particular program.

luar949 wrote:
so why is everyone hating this i hope thats not the case with the iphone 4 one thing i was looking forward to was multitasking 😟

Only a few loudmouths are complaining. They fancy themselves software geniuses who could do it right, if they chose to, which they don't because they can't. They just blather on about stuff they know nothing about.

I've managed to find workarounds with these same issues. They have extended my battery life closer to what it was under iOS3. But really, do we really need to be finding workarounds to make our phones work almost as well as it used to? Not very Apple like. I find myself thinking I have a PC instead of a Mac (no offence to PC users).

I also find the mulit-step fully closing apps is wearing thin. Not only on my patience, but my home key as well. lol I've had my phone crash on me several times since the upgrade, and that's just trying to fully close apps from the task dock. Mind you some of those times, it was just taking forever to fully quit. So I thought my phone froze. Still that's pretty lame. Considering before the upgrade, my phone worked flawlessly from day one.

I personally think iOS4 was built specifically for the iPhone 4, and they only made it to be compatible with the 3GS. But turns out it's not very "compatible". And I hate to say this about an Apple product (never had to in 20+ years), but I think it's really dumb, selfish, and ignorant of Apple to not allow us to downgrade back to iOS3. I'd rather have my phone back to being reliable than having the "fluff", like folders, new Mail features, even a little more stable Wi-Fi. As well, you can't download some apps because they require you to have iOS4. It's a catch 22. iOS 4.0.1 update doesn't mention of any fixes to issues 3GS users are having, just about iPhone 4 users. Hopefully the rumored iOS 4.1 will be more 3GS friendly.

I think what is really needed when pressing the Home button is the option to either exit the app completely or to minimize it, thus, sending it to the background.

That would just add an unnecessary step. No reason to close apps on the recent bar unless they are streaming or navigating and you want to stop them.

The iOS manages memory for you and clears out "frozen" apps from RAM as needed. Even with streaming apps such as Pandora, the iOS closes it if you open another app when memory is low.

Message was edited by: modular747

When you say the iPhone clears out apps from ram as needed - how do you know that? The apps are all still appearing in the tray. I looked at this for the first time since upgrading and discovered that every app I have started since the beginning is in the tray.

Also, it is clear to me that if I leave an app that uses gps running in the background instead of closing it completely from the tray my battery takes a huge hit very fast. And these are apps supposedly upgraded to run under 4.1. Also, when I cleared out all the apps this morning my battery life increase dramatically.

Sure would be nice to be able to disable multitasking - or better yet be given the option to run an app in background or not.

rpg51 wrote:
When you say the iPhone clears out apps from ram as needed - how do you know that? The apps are all still appearing in the tray.

I know that because when you reopen them, they no longer retain the last open state, and reopen as they would if they had been deleted from the tray. The icons always remain in the recent task bar regardless.

This is more obvious with apps still running in the background. I recently tried this by opening about 20 apps, all iOS4 rated. I checked available RAM with Systems Activity Monitor, showing only 6mb left. I then opened Pandora, and closed it, streaming music in the background. However, the next app I opened caused Pandora background streaming to close.

Also, it is clear to me that if I leave an app that uses gps running in the background instead of closing it completely from the tray my battery takes a huge hit very fast. And these are apps supposedly upgraded to run under 4.1. Also, when I cleared out all the apps this morning my battery life increase dramatically.

What do you expect when you let these apps run?? Of course it will eat the battery, just as it would on a laptop running background apps.

Sure would be nice to be able to disable multitasking - or better yet be given the option to run an app in background or not.

Why kill the goose? Why not just close the app from the tray when done. Apps that don't actually run, but just are frozen DON'T use the battery. Also, the developer can add a setting or switch to their apps to prevent background activity. That should be app optional, not OS. What's the big deal about going to the recent task bar and closing GPS apps you don't need? Is it really that difficult for you?

Message was edited by: modular747

modular747 wrote:
Why kill the goose? Why not just close the app from the tray when done. Apps that don't actually run, but just are frozen DON'T use the battery. Also, the developer can add a setting or switch to their apps to prevent background activity. That should be app optional, not OS.

That is the most logical way to approach it with iOS4, but really, using this anology...with iOS3, if you wanted to get across the pond, you would take the bridge, done. With iOS4, they decided to remove the bridge, so now you have to go around the pond to get to the other side, just so that you can enjoy the scenery more. Seems like a lot of 3GS users just want to get across the pond as quickly as possible and forgo the scenery. Not very Apple like. Considering they are all about outputting the most user friendly products. Until iOS4, I would stand by that claim. Have been for a very long time, to the point of arguing my case with "anti" Apple people.

What they can do is add a feature to disable "multitasking" in the next update. Just like you can disable Location Service or Push Notifications manually. Making it possible for people to hit the home key ONCE as in the previous OS, to fully quit the app. They added the multitask feature, why can't they give an option to remove/disable it.

I don't consider myself an Apple fan boy (as some define fan boy), I've just been a Mac guy for a very, very long time, and this is the first time I've ever felt let down by Apple. Don't really know how to react. lol

I have a few different GPS apps on my phone.

Sygic MobileMaps: They haven't brought out an updated version at this stages, so when I touch the home button, is closes. It still is showing in the bar, but it's not running.

Motion X GPS Lite: This has been updated and works for multitasking. They have however included an option in the settings if you want it to work in multitasking. So you can elect to have it turn off each time you touch the home button. Again, it will still be in the bar, but it is not running if you have selected not to use multitasking. I use mine this way.

Trails: This has also been updated and works for multitasking. They also have included an option in the settings if you want it to work in multitasking. So you can elect to have it turn off each time you touch the home button. Again, it will still be in the bar, but it is not running if you have selected not to use multitasking. I use this on for multitasking, and yes my battery drains when I do, because its running. When I have finished my walk, I remove it from the bar, so it's not running anymore.

So if the Apps you have on your phone have been updated, have a look in the setting area, and you may find the developer has given you the option to multitask or not.

Which I would imagine that this is exactly what Apple was expecting developers to implement.

Since upgrading my phone, I have not experience any issues, I have had a couple of Apps they would crash, so I removed them from my phone, waited for updates from the developers and then put them back on.

I hate multitasking because it is draining my battery unless I sit there and close each open app!! It's too tedious and takes up too much time just to get rid of the open ones! 😟 Any way to get rid of it?

I own several navigation apps as well. One, CoPilot, was not functioning properly while I had apps in the back ground and I was moving in an out between the. I did not realize it as the time - but there were about 20 apps open - but I was only actually using CoPilot and one other. Co Pilot kept malfunctioning in a variety of ways. I contacted CoPilot support. They told me that the problem was that all the open apps had consumed so much ram that CoPilot could not function. So it seems that at least one developer believes that open apps (not gps apps) are consuming too much ram and messing up the system. So now I am trying to close apps all the time out of the tray when I am done. But, it is a pain in the butt and frankly defeats the whole purpose of the multitasking feature. It is pretty obvious to me that the system Apple devised just plain does not function as it was intended to function.