We all have our little ticks when it comes to using gadgets.

Maybe you like your Mac or Windows desktop to be completely cleared of clutter. Maybe you obsessively close all the open browser tabs on your phone. Or maybe you always force-quit apps on your iPhone - if only to save precious battery life. Stop right there. That last bit is a huge misconception. Regularly swiping away all the open apps in your recently used apps drawer does not spare your battery.

Here's what actually happens every time you force an app to close.

How do you force-quit an app?

OK, so, you can quickly switch from one app to another on your iOS device by double-clicking the Home button. This will open your recently used apps, then you can swipe left or right to find an app you want to use, and tap to select the app. When you force-quit an app, you're basically doing the same thing, but instead of tapping to select an app, you swipe up on the app preview to close the app.

Does force-quitting apps save battery life?

As Daring Fireball has pointed out, one of the biggest misconceptions about iOS is that apps in the background are "locking up unnecessary RAM and consuming unnecessary CPU cycles, thus hurting performance and wasting battery life". But that's not how Apple's mobile operating system works, as apps in the background are "paused" in order to free-up the RAM they were using.

If you were to "unpause" an app, it actually takes up less CPU and energy than if you were to force-quit an app and then open it later. If you don't believe us, check out this email from Craig Federighi, Apple's senior VP of Software Engineering. He replied to an Apple customer who asked Apple CEO Tim Cook if he quits iOS multitasking apps and whether it is necessary to save battery life.

The executive's response? A firm "no and no".

Apple Ios Multitasking Force Quit image 2
9to5Mac

When should you force-quit an app?

According to Apple's official support document, you should only force an app to close when it’s unresponsive.

How do you save battery life then?

Good question. Lucky for you, we have an entire tips and tricks guide on how to save your iPhone's battery life.