Then, it’s ridiculous that there is no way to close an app without saving its state. The iPhone is easily the worst when it comes to clutter in the app manager, and the solution would be all too simple. How about a long-tap on the home button to close an app, fellas?
If you're worrying about "clutter in the app manager", you're using your iPhone wrong.
Snarky as it may be, "you're using your iPhone wrong" is a pretty myopic way to end that sentence.
There are several reasons a user might want to close an app without saving its state. One is to prevent the app from using background APIs. VoIP apps, GPS apps, etc can continue to access several APIs while their states are saved. In many instances, users might not want this.
Another reason is that many users make use of the app manager as an app switcher. This is one of its intended functions, of course. Switching between commonly used apps with a quick double-tap is far easier than swiping through home screens and digging through folders. It's also easier than using Spotlight.
In this scenario, when I open the app manager why should I have to swipe past the Settings app, the Phone app, the Weather app, the App Store, the Clock app, etc... just to get to the more commonly used app I'm looking for? (Why would I ever want my iPhone to save the Clock app's state in the first place?) The result, for someone who uses the app manager in this way, is a poor user experience.
And this poor user experience is easily avoidable: "How about a long-tap on the home button to close an app, fellas?"
A little pointer that might help people who are confused by the “app manager” and think it’s cluttered: think of it as merely showing you the apps you recently used because it’s just that. It’s not an app manager. Nobody would complain about a cluttered “Recently used” list on a desktop OS.
Almost correct.
The main problem to me is that GPS apps still run in the background when you close them, and they KILL the battery life. So every time I want to exit my GPS, I have to close it, double tap, press and hold the icon and close it.
Seems like perfect new rejection criteria: "Your app will be rejected if it continues to use location services in the background without making the battery life implications clear to the user and showing an option to easily turn this function off."
Actually, he's wrong on that point. there is a way to force quit an app without saving its state.
Press and hold the sleep/wake button for several seconds, until the Slide to Power Off control appears. Release the sleep/wake button and hold down the Home button for another 7-10 seconds.
The app will quit and return the user to the Home Screen.
If you're worrying about "clutter in the app manager", you're using your iPhone wrong.