Read how unused apps affect battery life of smartphones

Though it is widely believed that closing down unused apps can prolong battery life of smartphones, but this does not apply iphones.

Head of Apple’s operating system iOS, Tim Cook confirmed that open but unused apps do not affect iPhone battery life.
He was reaction to a customer who emailed him asking: whether closing down “multitasking apps” improved battery life and whether it was something the chief executive did himself.

Senior vice-president Craig Federighi replied “no and no”.

However, other smartphone batteries can benefit from app closure.

Read also: Skype kills its TV app quietly

Microsoft advises Nokia Lumia owners to close apps that aren’t in use on a web page about extending battery life.
“You can view and optimise your device through closing running apps and uninstalling unnecessary apps,” said Samsung in an announcement about a new “smart manager” app for the Galaxy 6.

While many Apple users do shut down apps in the belief it extends the iPhone battery, this is not advice explicitly given by the firm itself.

It only recommends disabling apps from carrying out background refreshes in a list of tips about saving power.
The BBC has contacted Apple for comment.

Cook explained that, “On a technical level, most of the apps are either frozen in RAM or not running at all, the system just displays them as a history for consistency. This is why the battery life impact is negligible”.

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