It’s no secret iPhone users are suckers for a good battery-saving trick. And, for years, many have been under the impression that manually shutting down apps using the multitasking menu would help preserve some battery life on their iPhone.
The process — which involves double tapping your iPhone’s home button and manually swiping away every app you have running — had become somewhat of a security blanket to those terrified of being left with a dead iPhone.
Even Apple Store employees have been known to suggest the method as a means to save battery power.
But, as it turns out, it’s nothing but a myth.
According to an email obtained by Apple news site 9to5Mac, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, responded to a customer inquiry on the issue stating the trick doesn’t help save any battery power.
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“Do you quit your iOS multitasking apps frequently and is this necessary of battery life,” read the customer email.
Federighi reportedly responded, “No and no.”
But this isn’t the first time Apple has tried to tell users the multitasking trick has little to do with battery life.
According to an Apple Support page, last updated in October 2015, generally the only reason you need to close an app from the multitasking menu is if its unresponsive.
“When you press the Home button two times quickly, the recently used apps that appear aren’t open. They’re in an efficient standby mode to help you navigate and multitask,” reads the page.
Real tips to make your iPhone battery last
Luckily, there are some real ways to make your iPhone battery last.
If you find your iPhone running on low battery try temporarily turning off some features that suck up battery power. For example, turn down the brightness on your display and turn off Wi-Fi and BlueTooth if you don’t need them. You can also turn off things like automatic downloads and push notifications in your “Settings” menu if you’re really in a pinch.
If your iPhone is running iOS 9, you can also turn on “Low Power Mode” under the “Battery” menu in your Settings. The new feature temporarily turns off email push functions, background app refresh, automatic downloads and some display features until you are able to plug your phone in to charge.
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