STOP force-quitting your apps on iOS.

Yep, you read right. And yes, we had the same initial reaction as you. But all this force-quitting on our iPhones is hurting, not helping. Plain and simple, “you should force an app to close only when it’s unresponsive,” according to Apple. When asked point-blank by a user whether Apple employees force-quit their apps and if it had any benefits to preserving battery-life, Apple VP of Software Engeineering Craig Federighi put it best: “No and No.”

Born This Way

Superhero skills went into ensuring iOS worked in such a way that once an app is in the background, it's “frozen.” It's not burning through your battery life, it's simply stalled until the next time you want to use it. The system is designed precisely this way, so that iOS can keep a passive relationship going with all apps & devices you have running in the background without putting iPhone battery life at risk.

iOS + One Drop

What does all of this mean for your One Drop app and meter? If you keep your One Drop app running in the background, iOS remembers all the data in your One Drop app it pulled up upon that initial launch. Next time you open your app, One Drop can retrieve all that data in a flash. Additionally, it keeps that oh-so-special bluetooth connection in-tact, making it easier for your One Drop | Chrome and app to speak with each other on command. Force-quitting One Drop on your iPhone, however, causes major breakage. The operating system forgets One Drop was ever there. All the data, the BT-connection is gone. Meaning relaunching your One Drop app the next time around will be like rekindling an old flame. Awkward, slow, and cumbersome.

Method to the Madness

No, there isn't one in the instance of the force-quit fallacy. There is, however, a method to keeping your apps running in the background. Unless an app is frozen or giving you a stink, keep 'em up to speed & ready for action. You'll keep iPhone battery life up, and frustration levels down. The more you know!