Many iOS users believe that closing apps help in conserving battery. However, many experts claim that closing apps manually actually uses more battery than just leaving the app inactive.
The misconception starts with the idea that while apps are running in the background, it consumes memory or RAM which in turn uses battery. If a device uses much of its memory it begins to slow down and end up consuming more battery.
While this idea is applicable in the PC platform, the same cannot be said for smartphones especially the ones running in the iOS platform. In fact, the iOS operating system is programmed to automatically close apps that are not in use or inactive. This feature is embedded in iOS in order to manage its limited RAM.
Genius Bar technician Scotty Loveless told Lifehacker, "iOS closes apps automatically as it needs more memory, so you're doing something your device is already doing for you. You are meant to be the user of your device, not the janitor."
Loveless added that manually closing apps means that when loading the same app the next time the user needs it means that the device has to load everything back to the memory all over again. This redundant action uses more battery than just leaving the app inactive in the background.
Apps running in the background only consume battery when it is playing music, recording audio and uses location services. Additionally, VOIP apps such as Skype consume massive amounts of RAM while running in the background.
While battery life is still a main concern for iOS users, Apple promised that it will introduce new battery-saving feature for its upcoming iOS 9 operating system. According to The Next Web, iOS 9 will have a feature that automatically turns off iOS device's screen when its face down on a table.