New App Switcher Location

[Pfunstuff]

Anyone miss being able to switch/close apps on the right side of the phone as in prior to 9.0? I wish there was at least a toggle setting within settings to allow it to switch screen sides depending on which hand you use most. I don't mind the new app switcher, I just wish it were on the right side of the phone being a predominantly right-handed phone user. Having to reach all the way over to that left side of the phone with my right thumb is a slight inconvenience

What are your thoughts?

 

[macduke]

Yeah, Apple should add a handedness toggle. They're all about accessibility, so this should be a setting. The bias is much more apparent in iOS 9. Even more odd is that it affects right handed users, which represent about 90% of the population. I think it's going to really suck for 6S Plus users. It's going to be difficult to activate the 3D Touch gesture to open the multitasking UI when they have to reach all the way across with force.

 

[Pfunstuff]

Yeah, Apple should add a handedness toggle. They're all about accessibility, so this should be a setting. The bias is much more apparent in iOS 9. Even more odd is that it affects right handed users, which represent about 90% of the population. I think it's going to really suck for 6S Plus users. It's going to be difficult to activate the 3D Touch gesture to open the multitasking UI when they have to reach all the way across with force.

Yeah, I agree. You bring up a great point about the 3D Touch as well. I didn't even consider that. Having a 6 Plus as I do, I may just have to stick with the conventional double clicking of the home button depending on how inconvenient it is.

 

[blassley]

Anyone miss being able to switch/close apps on the right side of the phone as in prior to 9.0? I wish there was at least a toggle setting within settings to allow it to switch screen sides depending on which hand you use most. I don't mind the new app switcher, I just wish it were on the right side of the phone being a predominantly right-handed phone user. Having to reach all the way over to that left side of the phone with my right thumb is a slight inconvenience

What are your thoughts?

Agreed! I hate the new app switcher because of this

 

[Jayson A]

You shouldn't be "closing apps". The app switcher is just a SWITCHER. It's not meant to be used as an app CLOSER.

Most apps do not run in the background (even though you may think they are since they're loaded in the RAM). Closing them manually is pointless because they're not running to begin with.

Also, as the OS needs more memory (for web pages etc), the OS will automatically flush the oldest apps out of the memory (but they still stay in the app switcher for convenience), but they will be essentially unloaded from the memory to make room for newly opened apps and web pages.

This is how multitasking has always worked in iOS and manually closing apps does not do any good (unless an App is frozen or behaving strangely).

 

[macduke]

You shouldn't be "closing apps". The app switcher is just a SWITCHER. It's not meant to be used as an app CLOSER.

Most apps do not run in the background (even though you may think they are since they're loaded in the RAM). Closing them manually is pointless because they're not running to begin with.

Also, as the OS needs more memory (for web pages etc), the OS will automatically flush the oldest apps out of the memory (but they still stay in the app switcher for convenience), but they will be essentially unloaded from the memory to make room for newly opened apps and web pages.

This is how multitasking has always worked in iOS and manually closing apps does not do any good (unless an App is frozen or behaving strangely).

I would have apps freeze up or act strange quite often on my 6 Plus, so force quitting was a somewhat common thing. It's running a bit better on iOS 9, however. I also know some people who like to clear out their task switcher and keep it tidy so it's easier to find things. For those people Apple should include a 3D Touch pop gesture for the task switcher to clear all of the apps, lol. They also need to do that for the notifications list like they did on the watch.

 

[C DM]

You shouldn't be "closing apps". The app switcher is just a SWITCHER. It's not meant to be used as an app CLOSER.

Most apps do not run in the background (even though you may think they are since they're loaded in the RAM). Closing them manually is pointless because they're not running to begin with.

Also, as the OS needs more memory (for web pages etc), the OS will automatically flush the oldest apps out of the memory (but they still stay in the app switcher for convenience), but they will be essentially unloaded from the memory to make room for newly opened apps and web pages.

This is how multitasking has always worked in iOS and manually closing apps does not do any good (unless an App is frozen or behaving strangely).

Even as a switcher the same things about its alignment and interaction can apply.

 

[Pfunstuff]

I would have apps freeze up or act strange quite often on my 6 Plus, so force quitting was a somewhat common thing. It's running a bit better on iOS 9, however. I also know some people who like to clear out their task switcher and keep it tidy so it's easier to find things. For those people Apple should include a 3D Touch pop gesture for the task switcher to clear all of the apps, lol. They also need to do that for the notifications list like they did on the watch.

This is why I use the switcher to close apps. I prefer not to have pages of apps to shuffle through.

 

[Jayson A]

This is why I use the switcher to close apps. I prefer not to have pages of apps to shuffle through.

Perhaps I live a much simpler life. I don't use a lot of Apps. Unlike many people, I find Safari to be fine for 90% of things I need to do on my iPhone. The rest is Music, Photos, Phone and Text (and sometimes Maps, Calender and Reminders). I couldn't care less about the other apps.

 

[Pfunstuff]

Perhaps I live a much simpler life. I don't use a lot of Apps. Unlike many people, I find Safari to be fine for 90% of things I need to do on my iPhone. The rest is Music, Photos, Phone and Text (and sometimes Maps, Calender and Reminders). I couldn't care less about the other apps.

I completely understand this. Yeah, I use a lot of different apps on my iphone and ipad especially being a student in college right now with note taking, studying, and everything else that goes along with college

 

[gordon1234]

I completely understand this. Yeah, I use a lot of different apps on my iphone and ipad especially being a student in college right now with note taking, studying, and everything else that goes along with college

I still think you're stuck in an old mindset with regards to the app switcher. It's just apps sorted by how recently they were used. You're not meant to scroll endlessly. How far back people like to go will vary by user (for me it's about 5 apps), but you're not meant to go through the whole list the way you would on OS X. Killing apps from the task switcher wastes battery and makes apps slower to launch since they are purged from memory.

 

[Pfunstuff]

I still think you're stuck in an old mindset with regards to the app switcher. It's just apps sorted by how recently they were used. You're not meant to scroll endlessly. How far back people like to go will vary by user (for me it's about 5 apps), but you're not meant to go through the whole list the way you would on OS X. Killing apps from the task switcher wastes battery and makes apps slower to launch since they are purged from memory.

You learn something new every day. It was my understanding that closing out of the apps would conserve battery and/or memory because that list of apps are all apps the system is having to maintain in the background. I understand your explanation of apps launching slower since they are purged from memory. That makes sense. So, there is no point to ever completely closing those apps in the switcher all together? Even if, hypothetically, you had 30 different apps in the switcher it's okay to leave them all running in there?

 

[Jayson A]

You learn something new every day. It was my understanding that closing out of the apps would conserve battery and/or memory because that list of apps are all apps the system is having to maintain in the background. I understand your explanation of apps launching slower since they are purged from memory. That makes sense. So, there is no point to ever completely closing those apps in the switcher all together? Even if, hypothetically, you had 30 different apps in the switcher it's okay to leave them all running in there?

They're not technically "running" when you go to the home screen or switch to a different app. The app is basically paused until you come back to it. Once you open the app again, it un-pauses and resumes where you left off. If you open an app (or tabs in Safari), the OS may need more RAM, but it's not the user's responsibility to free up that RAM... that is handled automatically by the OS. It will close the oldest apps from the memory and open your new app. That's why sometimes you'll just see a blank screen in the app switcher (or the app opens with a blank screen while it's animating) because it has been purged from the memory and it's opening fresh again.

 

[stulaw11]

I dont love the new switcher, but why did they remove the badges from the apps in the switcher? Can't tell if there are any notifications for that app in the switcher vs the old. Big oversight there

 

[Jayson A]

I dont love the new switcher, but why did they remove the badges from the apps in the switcher? Can't tell if there are any notifications for that app in the switcher vs the old. Big oversight there

Hmmm. Never noticed.

 

[lagwagon]

I still think you're stuck in an old mindset with regards to the app switcher. It's just apps sorted by how recently they were used. You're not meant to scroll endlessly. How far back people like to go will vary by user (for me it's about 5 apps), but you're not meant to go through the whole list the way you would on OS X. Killing apps from the task switcher wastes battery and makes apps slower to launch since they are purged from memory.

You're also in the wrong mindset. If you've used an app 1 hour ago and have used 4 other apps in that time frame, that app you used an hour ago more than likely got booted from ram. You would no longer get those battery/quicker launch benefits, it would have to fresh launch again anyways. So in the end it makes the "battery/launch" point moot.

There are benefits to manually closing out apps you do not frequently use.

1: A closed app has zero chance of getting stuck or hung on a process (which probably happens more than people realize) 8.4 Music app is a good example of causing issues if left "open", in the switcher. Closing it totally eliminated that issue.

2: Odds are if you don't use that app multiple times an hour, every hour, it has been kicked from ram and all that benefit is lost.

3: Some apps will run indefinitely regardless of background refresh or not. (Facebook is a prime example of this.)

 

[Jayson A]

You're also in the wrong mindset. If you've used an app 1 hour ago and have used 4 other apps in that time frame, that app you used an hour ago more than likely got booted from ram. You would no longer get those battery/quicker launch benefits, it would have to fresh launch again anyways. So in the end it makes the "battery/launch" point moot.

There are benefits to manually closing out apps you do not frequently use.

1: A closed app has zero chance of getting stuck or hung on a process (which probably happens more than people realize) 8.4 Music app is a good example of causing issues if left "open", in the switcher. Closing it totally eliminated that issue.

2: Odds are if you don't use that app multiple times an hour, every hour, it has been kicked from ram and all that benefit is lost.

3: Some apps will run indefinitely regardless of background refresh or not. (Facebook is a prime example of this.)

Yes, music app had an issue in 8.4.1, but that's not because it was left open (it's because Apple released buggy software). Third party apps are not allowed to be left open (unless they're finishing up a process, but once that process is done, the app suspends) There are a few Apple apps that do stay running always... Music app and Mail app. Music app wasn't an issue prior to 8.4.1 and it's no longer bugged in 9.0, so it shouldn't be an issue as of right now. You shouldn't HAVE to close those apps out. It's not chewing through battery unless you're actually playing music.

Also, Facebook does not always run in the background. It will only run if it's finishing up uploading an image or video.

 

[lagwagon]

Yes, music app had an issue in 8.4.1, but that's not because it was left open (it's because Apple released buggy software). Third party apps are not allowed to be left open (unless they're finishing up a process, but once that process is done, the app suspends) There are a few Apple apps that do stay running always... Music app and Mail app. Music app wasn't an issue prior to 8.4.1 and it's no longer bugged in 9.0, so it shouldn't be an issue as of right now. You shouldn't HAVE to close those apps out. It's not chewing through battery unless you're actually playing music.

Also, Facebook does not always run in the background. It will only run if it's finishing up uploading an image or video.

The 8.4 Music app did cause issues if left in the switcher. The massive lag it caused completely went away as soon as you fully closed it. Sure it was mostly fixed in 9.0, that doesn't take away the fact leaving something in the switcher can cause problems.

Some 3rd party apps are allowed to run indefinitely. Apps are allowed up to a max of a 15 minute extension to run and finish a task. However there are five types of activities an app can have that are allowed to always run. GPS and VoIP are two of them.

Anyways you missed the point completely that there is never a guarantee that any app gets suspended when it is supposed to, because like any computer an app can get hung up on a process and won't close on its own.

It's also been widely reported of people checking Facebook for 5 minutes on screen, press Home to leave the app, hours later check their battery in setting and it showing the 5 minutes on screen and multiple hours background usage (while background refresh is off.) It's because Facebook along with Messenger use VoIP (one of the five allowed tasks to always run.)

 

[Jayson A]

The 8.4 Music app did cause issues if left in the switcher. The massive lag it caused completely went away as soon as you fully closed it. Sure it was mostly fixed in 9.0, that doesn't take away the fact leaving something in the switcher can cause problems.

Some 3rd party apps are allowed to run indefinitely. Apps are allowed up to a max of a 15 minute extension to run and finish a task. However there are five types of activities an app can have that are allowed to always run. GPS and VoIP are two of them.

Anyways you missed the point completely that there is never a guarantee that any app gets suspended when it is supposed to, because like any computer an app can get hung up on a process and won't close on its own.

It's also been widely reported of people checking Facebook for 5 minutes on screen, press Home to leave the app, hours later check their battery in setting and it showing the 5 minutes on screen and multiple hours background usage (while background refresh is off.) It's because Facebook along with Messenger use VoIP (one of the five allowed tasks to always run.)

The Music app is fixed now. I haven't experienced the same Lag I had in 8.4 (with music). Leaving the music app in the switcher didn't cause it to lag though. The lag only happened when you closed music app (the OS would lag for a few seconds) or when you opened Music app (again... lag for a few seconds). After a few seconds of lag, the OS would then return to normal until you opened Music again.

I don't use the facebook app because it's a piece of trash, so I didn't know it used VoIP to stay open. That's facebook's problem, not mine. I also don't use Facebook messenger. The facebook site is more than enough for me.

Other than having an app that goes against the rules by using VoIP, there shouldn't be a reason to close apps manually. In fact, the facebook app should have an option to shut that crap off. Apple prides itself on their multitasking functionality and the fact that apps are suspended instead of left running.