Background refresh

Hi nelu128,

If you'd like to know more about Background App Refresh, this information might help. 

Having Background App Refresh enabled or disabled is neither good nor bad, it is neutral. Which features are enabled is up to each individual iPhone user and what's best for them. Here's some additional information that might help you to make the best decision for you and how you use your iPhone.

Use Background App RefreshAfter you switch to a different app, some apps run for a short period of time before they're set to a suspended state. Apps that are in a suspended state aren’t actively in use, open, or taking up system resources. With Background App Refresh, suspended apps can check for updates and new content. 

If you want suspended apps to check for new content, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn on Background App Refresh. If you quit an app from the app switcher, it might not be able to run or check for new content before you open it again.

The text above is from Switch apps on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. 

For your other question, Background App Refresh does affect your battery and turning it off can improve battery life. 

Background Activity. This indicates that the battery was used by the app while it was in the background — that is, while you were using another app.

- To improve battery life, you can turn off the feature that allows apps to refresh in the background. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and select Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi & Cellular Data, or Off to turn off Background App Refresh entirely.

The information above is from Maximizing Battery Life and Lifespan. If you have further questions, let the community know what areas need clarification.

We hope that helps with your questions and take care!

Good analysis by Alex_Han.

One thing to note is that if Background App Refresh is off, or off for an app, that app will still update when you open it, except it will do it in foreground. It will still take the same amount of energy, so turning off background app refresh doesn’t save energy in the long run, it just moves the time the energy is used from one time to another.

Further info: If you charge the phone overnight, every night (and you should), any background app updates that happen during the night use mains power instead of battery power. So if you do charge overnight it is probably better to leave background app refresh on.