An app killer claims to be an app that eliminates apps running in the background of your iPhone or Android phone that can use up CPU and drain battery. They are touted as essential apps that will make your device run faster. Hearing this you now want to know the best app killers for iPhone and Android.
Here’s the thing: App killers are unnecessary and bad for your device. With this guide, learn the truth about these “essential” apps and find out which apps to actually download to get rid of problem apps the correct way.
The Lie: Understanding Background Processes on Your Device
On your PC, you know that programs will keep running in the background. Even when you aren’t using them, they take up power on your computer, right? They can slow things down so that programs don’t load quickly. You have learned how to check which programs are running and how to get rid of them to speed things up.
You have your iPhone or Android phone and that works just like a computer, right? So you assume that the same thing happens on your phone as it does the computer. That apps continue to run in the background and eat up the power on your device. You even know it because you can see all your open apps with just a tap on the screen. App killers are everywhere and even tell you how important it is to close these running apps.
That’s just not true.
Android and iOS are not like your computer. They do not work the same by keeping apps running in the background. That list of apps you see are actually suspended or “paused” apps. They are not running and are not using any power. Think of them as frozen. They won’t start using power again until you run them again. Very few apps actually run in the background, including streaming apps that keep playing movies or music when you venture to another app. You are still using them so it is OK that they are running.
What App Killers Actually Do That is Bad For Your Device
App killers, or task killers, will remove those “paused” apps automatically on your device. This is actually bad for your device and has the opposite effect. They actually use more power than you think you are saving. Here’s why:
- App killers remove the apps that you aren’t even using. It isn’t stopping anything using power so you don’t save any power.
- App killers will stop those few programs that are running in the background, stopping their use when you still want it. Not only does it stop your streaming music, but it will also stop anything you are downloading in the background.
- When you close an app, it saves where you left off and that is where it “pauses.” When you open the app again, it loads right up quickly where you left it. An App killer will completely close the app so when you go to open it again you have to completely load it from the device and not from the “paused” version. This takes longer and uses up more power.
- Many apps are set to load automatically. An app killer will close the app and then it will reload automatically, from the device which as mentioned takes longer and uses more battery. App killer will close it and it will load again. This is a huge power waste.
How Devices Come With Their Own “App Killers”
Whether you use an iPhone or Android phone or tablet, you already have everything you need to deal with running apps. They automatically remove “paused” apps that you haven’t used in while whenever your RAM is full. It keeps apps you use often for easy access. Besides this automatic feature, they all come with their own task killer.
Android:From the main screen, tap the square at the bottom on the right hand side. This brings up all “paused” and running apps. You can clear them all by tapping the “clear all” button or close them individually by swiping them to the right.
iOS:From the main screen press the Home button twice. This brings up all “paused” and running apps. You can clear them by swiping up to remove them. You can even swipe a few at a time to make things quicker.
App Killer
It is true that some apps are power hungry. They do use up a lot of RAM on your device or use lots of battery power. Usually these are apps that have something wrong with them and you need to uninstall and reinstall them to make them work properly. Others are just power hungry. How do you know which apps are using up power?
Both Android and iOS come with built in task managers that tell you which apps are running in the background, using up battery, and more. You can use these built-in features or try out an app that does it easier. Here are the two best task manager apps for iPhone and Android.
WatchDog Task Manager Lite for Android:This nifty WatchDog app finds those errant power hungry apps that have gone rogue and lets you kill them individually. It does not happen automatically and it doesn’t kill all apps. It kills only those that are using up too much RAM or battery. It sends you an alert when one appears and you can choose to kill it or uninstall it completely.
SnapStats for iPhone:SnapStats provides tons of information on your phone, but the most useful feature is its ability to tell you about CPU/RAM usage and battery usage. It tells you how much RAM or battery all your apps are using. If you see one that is errant and power hungry you can uninstall it.
Now you know the answer to the best app killers for iPhone and Android: None. Don’t use an app killer or task killer that will only slow down your device. Instead, use a simple task manager or make use of the built-in app managers that come with your device.
