can you close all apps at once?

I doubt this is going to happen, and if you have an app that is running in the background - not suspended, more than likely it isn't going to be 4 screens back and so what if it is.

There is no reason for the overwhelming majority of 3rd party apps to be running in the background - in a suspended state for some maybe, but the overwhelming majority of 3rd party apps will continue to be quit when leaving the app.

I thought I'd test this and opened up about 8 apps, OS-included ones and app store ones. My phone memory dropped from 356mb down to 321mb. So there is some memory usage. Not bad though. Of the eight apps I opened, only three showed up as still being used at the end. Don't ask how I tracked this, 'cause I won't say. But I did and it was accurate.

There are apps that will kill all processes or close all apps, but they are not available through the app store.

I accept that you would have no use for such a function, however I can assure that I would find such a function useful (shall I wait for you to respond with 'so what if you would').

I accept that you want this so you don't have the overwhelming burden of having to maybe go 4 screens back to quit an app that is running in the background, which the overwhelming majority of 3rd party apps don't and will never do since there is no reason for it.

More than likely you will be waiting a long time for such a function.

http://whenwillapple.com/blog/2010/04/19/iphone-os-4-multitasking-explained-agai n/

+Q: How do you close applications when multitasking?+

+A: (Scott Forstall) You don’t have to. The user just uses things and doesn’t ever have to worry about it.+

+A: *(Steve Jobs) It’s like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it. _In multitasking, if you see a task manager… they blew it._ Users shouldn’t ever have to think about it.*+

What's the benefit of this sort of multitasking? If my phone has every app that I've used in the past few weeks, then I don't think I'm saving time by scrolling through them all to find the one that I want to use. If I just hit the menu button at least I know which page the app I'm looking for is on.

The benefit with this sort of multitasking with 3rd party apps is not having a task manager and battery consumption. Copied from one of my previous posts in this thread.

+Some apps such as games will be left in a suspended state when leaving the app so when returning to the app you can begin where you left off instead of launching the app and starting over. When such an app is in a suspended state, it isn't using any battery or processor cycles since it is suspended or frozen.+

+A handful of apps such as a music streaming app or a GPS turn by turn voice navigation app will continue to run in the background when leaving the app.+

It is not a multitasking bar. It is a fast app switching and recently used apps bar. For an app that you haven't used for a few weeks, there isn't much benefit to use the fast app switching and recently used apps bar, but it can be for the apps that you recently used - as in the last day or two, or you don't need to use it at all except for quitting a 3rd party app that is running in the background, which are few and far between.

I would like to see a close all - or even have apps themselves have a close and exit. Suspended apps eat up RAM, which may not end up being an issue on the iP4 but will on the iPad.

Totally reasonable request.

SS

You must not have read my awesome article on this, but unused RAM is wasted RAM. When you run out the last used program will be completely closed automatically by the system to create space for a new program.

Justin13 wrote:
You must not have read my awesome article on this, but unused RAM is wasted RAM. When you run out the last used program will be completely closed automatically by the system to create space for a new program.

I'm sure it's a wonderful article although I already knew what iOS 4 will do in low memory situations, since that was well-covered in Apple's initial announcement, which was well covered by the media.

Doesn't change my view that close all would be handy. What's your deal anyway? Would it hurt you in some way if iPhones had this capability? So some people want to see things a different way, so what?

Search on this board how many silly "solutions" there are to this problem or that problem (my favorite was the rituals one guy goes through before updating iOS) that involve closing everything on the fast switcher bar or whatever you want to call it.

SS

No, why would anyone care if you want something on your phone that I realize there is no use for? I'm just trying to help you understand that what you want is pointless...so you don't feel as bad when it never happens, and it won't.

Can you explain to me what the point of having 256MB of 512MB RAM free, doing nothing, if it can be put to use? That's like running your own business, hiring 10 employees, and telling 5 of them to go play on facebook all day.

One tip you might find hand is you can close two apps (maybe more if you have skinny fingers) at a type. Just bring up the fast app switch bar, tap and hold, then click two ➖ at the same time.

If you want it that bad, then why not jailbreak your phone? I'm sure there are lots of apps to do killall type stuff.

Like I said above.

I don't even get the point of what Apple has done. True backgrounding means I can be using an app, enable it, close it, use another app, come back to the first and it's right where I left it. Very handy. What Apple has done does not do that at all. You close the app, it's over, and reopens at its start point, not where you hoped to "save" it. The i4 has a ton of memory, and having several apps open at once, "I'm sure," will not negatively affect it. What Apple has done is give you "Recent Items." That's a far cry from running multiple apps at once. Though there has always been backgrounding for some apps, like iPod, which I can run in the background while doing other things.

I have to reply because what you said is just not correct. It's true for many apps, but as time goes on more and more of the apps I use everyday do the basic form of multitasking which is suspend mode.

This means that when you leave an app it IS saved right where you left it. When you enter the app again it instantly pops up as it doesn't have to load from flash storage to RAM and open to where you left off.

Yes technically this isn't true multitasking ask the frozen app gets not CPU cycles to do anything when frozen, but Apple never said it was the normal multitasking we are used to with desktop computers.

Soooo.... what you are saying is that I'm wrong, but I'm right, but sooner or later I'll be wrong, but it really isn't what we think of as multitasking?

🙂

Peace out.....

What Apple has done does not do that at all. You close the app, it's over, and reopens at its start point, not where you hoped to "save" it.

Apple has provided for this with iOS4, but it is up to the app developer for an app to make use of one of the iOS4 multitasking API's for 3rd party apps and update their app for it.

Yes, Apple has provided us with the OS and what is done with it provides us with our using experience. Now THAT I can agree with. Apple provides me with an OS.