Q: ios7 keeps refreshing apps after switching

how come some people get this problem and others don't? i had always assumed that the problem was there for everybody, but only power-users noticed it. but someone a few days ago posted something about comparing two devices and one had this problem bad and the other didn't. does that mean it could be the OS installing differently on different copies of the same model device? or some odd minor but common hardware defect that causes the memory management problem?

Yes, a user has been posting differences between two devices, one with a 'modified' iOS and one with a valid install. The 'modified' iOS has been hacked, so the comparison is invalid. Sorry for the misleading information.  Hacked operating systems void Apple warranties and can obviously affect both hardware and software performance.

I have been coming to the same conclusion as you as I read the the most recent posts. It does seem to point to a subtle  difference between hardware or some sort of low level firmware (my understanding of iDevice architrcture is minimal).

When, at the suggestion of a Apple Store techie, I carried out a DFU reset/restore, I ended up with an out-of-the-box software and app configuration. Even in this pared down system, the app refresh problem manifested itself after a brief respite. This suggests that the problem does not arise from a strange combination of settings and installed apps, so could indeed be hardware related (given that not everyone experiences it).

Against this argument are the reports of iPad Air users (and iPhone 5 users?) also experiencing this problem. It seems unlikely, though not impossible, that a problematic hardware variation has appeared in iPad models over 2 or three years.

I Just don't know what to think anymore.

I too am well aware of coding. I am studying computer engineering currently. Yes that is what people want here. Suspending the app in background and restoring from the state from where it was left.

For your kind info, Apple calls this multitasking. So you are wrong here, It's just that it isn't true multitasking like you get on Android. Apple never offered true multitasking, not even on iOS 7. So again you are wrong.

Background refresh just refreshes your content in the background so that when you restore your app, it it won't have to load new data. With background refresh disabled, its supposed to offer same multitasking as it did on iOS 6 but it doesn't.

You clearly don't seem to understand how iOS is jailbroken. It does NOT affect the performance of your device. You should look up videos where they compare jailbroken device vs non jailbroken device on the same firmware. You will find they are both on par.

And you saying jailbreaking affects the performance is completely invalid as people without jailbreaking are also experiencing this.

And posting results from a jailbroken device is just for diagnosing. Can you see your free RAM without jailbreaking? No you can't. You arent even aware of how much free RAM you have left, how are you even gonna diagnose this multitasking issue as clearly no support seems to be coming from Apple.

tedhtl doesn't seem to have knowledge regarding jailbreaking. Modifying your iOS does not affect the performance. You should try comparing the devices yourself, one with modified iOS and one without. You will notice both are on par.

Yes hacking iOS voids the warranty, but you can just restore it on iTunes it will be back on vanilla iOS and your warranty is back. Apple wouldn't know you were ever jailbroken.

Before posting your assumed data, let me ask you. Do you even know why Apple does not support jailbreaking? Of course you wouldn't because you depend on other developers for your knowledge.

The reason Apple does not support jailbreaking is because it opens your iOS. iOS is meant to be closed secure system. Get your facts right before posting wrong data.

Do you even know that Apple thanks the hackers for jailbreaking so that they know the vulnerabilities in their iOS and can close the loops in the next iOS update. Go learn before posting bull ****.

I hardly doubt it has something to do with hardware as the same devices you are complaining about functioned well on iOS 6 and earlier. It clearly has to do with iOS 7.

The reason some people are experiencing and others aren't is because something seems to trigger this issue which apparently no one seems to be aware off. I have done side by side test on my friend's iPad 2 and my 4S. Ran the same apps and he could multitask way more than me. It was as if this issue did not affect him at all. I synced every settings of his with mine. Still couldn't find the root cause of this issue. He didn't have mail set up though. I have yet to try it on my 4S without mail set up.

I have updated to iOS 7.1.1 from iOS 7.0.6 and I can confirm the multitasking problem is gone. If you are asking why did I update so late, it was because I was waiting for a jailbreak. It just came out couple of hours back.

Ok, bs.007 (bs standing for what?).  I give up.  This going nowhere and I'm getting bored.  Last note:  STUDYING computer engineering does not equal 30 years in the business.  You're just some know-it-all in school.  There is no use correcting you over and over.  BTW, five posts in a row?  This is not your personal discussion.  I'm done.

iOS7 was the worst mandatory upgrade ever. An OS that doesn't page out to disk? Buying that 64GB iPhone sure wasn't my brightest idea.

Anyway, I see you folks have done a lot of research here. Here are a couple of other links that basically show how iOS7 is a memory hog (vs. iOS6) with no fix for this problem in the near future. I hate Android for its fragmentation and lack of security, but if iOS 8 doesn't fix this, I wouldn't be upgrading to another iPhone.  BTW, I have iPhone 4S running latest iOS with no jailbreak.

Youtube video comparing iOS6/iOS7 mem usage and app reset behavior: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiexvSvG_5E

An App developer's analysis of memory consumption by his app: http://plainoldstan.blogspot.cz/2013/09/ios-7-vs-ios-6-memory-consumption-omg.ht ml

StackOverflow page about ios6's 16MB vs. ios7's 160MB usage: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/18866847/ios-7-memory-issues

I really hope Apple spends some time on performance optimizations instead of adding new colors, fonts, and jarring animations on a device that is slow as molasses!

You are wrong. Jailbreaking not only voids the warranty, it exposes your device to a myriad of potential problems. Apple doesn't support jailbreaking because the results of doing so are, basically, unknown. Also, you will lose any support from anyone on this site if you have jailbroken your device:

APPLE'S JAILBREAK WARNING

GB

A new iOS update was just release.  I don't suppose it finally fixes the problem?

No 7.1.2 doesn't fix. And don't keep hopes on iOS 8 either. As of iOS 8 beta 2, the problem still exists.

this happened a few yers ago when steve jobs was still alive. it was fixed alost immediately. I remember because it was one of the most annoying bugs ever! i can't believe they still have not fixed this.

Interesting. I continue to contact app developers about this problem and am posting the replies when I get them. Generally, I am not getting responses, even though tickets are created. I am continuing to push. I think developers are well aware of this buggy iOS version. Here is the latest from support of a very popular app:

The issue you're experiencing sounds like the RAM (your iOS device's temporary memory, not to be confused with its "disk space" for installing apps) is filling up, likely due to other apps runnig] in the background. Those apps are supposed to be forced closed, but if a webpage in Safari is too large (or you have too many tabs open, perhaps) iOS will be forced to reload those tabs. I would suggest rebooting the iOS device completely to see if that helps. If not, you may have to force quit some other apps as well.

Hmmm...