How does one close all apps simultaneously on an iPhone?

ewalrath2015 wrote:

It would help me to understand this if someone were to explain how having 20 apps opened at the same time does not affect performance.

The apps are suspended. They are not using much, if any system resources. If, on the other hand, you close them and then need to open them again, that requires more system resources than unsuspending them. Modern operating systems are very good at managing memory and processor capacity on their own.

You can save some resources by turning off Background App Refresh in Settings>General>Background App Refresh.

If Apple wanted you to close all apps, they would have designed this option into the phone.

Truth is, Apple notes that you should not try to close all apps unless your phone is having app problems.

If you really do want to close all apps at the same time, you can always Power Off the phone, wait 15-20 seconds, then power the phone back on.

Not sure how much help that we can provide about non-Apple products on an Apple support site, but another user might have some ideas if you want to wait to see if anyone answers. I would be surprised if a third-party solution even exists. Good luck.

ewalrath2015 wrote:

I'm well aware that Apple does not want us to have that level of control. Though I'm curious why that is so, that knowledge won't change anything.

Because it's not necessary. It gains you nothing to close all of the apps. The phone runs better and uses battery more efficiently if you don't try to micromanage it. And, Apple doesn't allow third-party apps to have that kind of control over the iPhone operating system. The "why" for that restriction is for security.

This comes straight from Craig Federighi, Apple’s VP of software engineering. He has stated that once an app is in the background it does not take up any computing cycles (if properly designed, Facebook was a glaring exception). He also says quitting and then reopening apps takes more energy than leaving them open and shortens battery life. I’ll take his word for it.

But back to your original question. Neither iOS nor macOS have ever had such on option. I don’t think Windows or Android does either, other than logging out or shutting down/rebooting. Neither does watchOS or iPadOS.

ewalrath2015 wrote:

Thankyou. That helps.

I believe that those of us who grew up with operating systems that managed memory and computing cycles far inefficiently can sympathize with your urge to take control. But, really, things have gotten more efficient.

Best of luck.