You Just Got a New iPhone and It’s Already Slowing Down
You unboxed your shiny new iPhone, set it up, and started downloading your favorite apps. Everything felt lightning-fast. But after a few days, you notice the battery draining faster than expected, or the phone feels a bit warm, or an app seems to be frozen. Your first instinct? You try to close the apps running in the background.
If you’re coming from an older iPhone or even an Android device, the method might have changed. The familiar Home button is gone on most new models, replaced by intuitive gestures. This simple task of closing apps can suddenly feel confusing, leaving you swiping frantically at the screen.
This guide is for anyone holding a new iPhone—whether it’s the latest iPhone 16, an iPhone 15, or an iPhone 14—and wondering how to properly manage their apps. We’ll cover the correct gestures, explain when you actually should close apps, and clear up common misconceptions to keep your new device running smoothly.
Understanding the App Switcher on Modern iPhones
Before we dive into the steps, it’s crucial to understand what you’re actually doing. When you “close” an app, you’re removing it from the App Switcher, which is the carousel of your recently used apps. Technically, iOS is very efficient at managing memory and battery life for apps in the background.
For most users, force-closing apps constantly is unnecessary and can even make your iPhone slower and drain more battery. Why? Because launching a “cold” app from scratch uses more system resources than waking up an app that’s suspended in memory. However, there are valid times to close an app, which we’ll get to shortly.
The key interface for this task is the App Switcher. It’s your central hub for navigating between recent applications without going back to the Home Screen.
The Universal Gesture to Open the App Switcher
On all new iPhones without a Home Button (iPhone X and later), the gesture is the same. It requires a smooth, continuous motion from the bottom of the screen.
Start by placing your thumb or finger at the very bottom edge of the screen, in the center. Gently swipe upward, but pause halfway up the screen. Don’t swipe all the way to the top; instead, stop and hold your finger in the middle of the display for a brief moment.
You should feel a subtle haptic tap, and the App Switcher view will slide into place. This shows all your recently used apps as large, overlapping cards. If you swipe all the way up quickly, you’ll just go to the Home Screen. The pause is the key.
Practice this a few times. It’s the fundamental navigation gesture for modern iPhones and is used for much more than just closing apps.
Step-by-Step: How to Close an App from the App Switcher
Once you’ve successfully opened the App Switcher, closing an app is straightforward. Here is the precise method.
With the App Switcher open, you’ll see cards representing each app. You can swipe left or right to browse through them. To close a specific app, you need to swipe its card away.
Find the app you want to close. Press and hold on its card briefly. You’ll see a red minus (-) icon appear in the top-left corner of each app card. Some users try to swipe up from the bottom of the card, but the most reliable method is to simply swipe the card itself up and off the top of the screen.
Use one finger to swipe the app’s card upward, as if you are throwing it off the top of your iPhone. The card will animate and disappear. The app is now closed and removed from the App Switcher’s recent apps list.
You can close multiple apps in quick succession by repeating this swipe-up gesture on each card. There’s no “Close All” button in iOS, so you have to swipe each one individually.
What If an App Is Frozen?
Sometimes, an app might become completely unresponsive—it won’t accept touch input, or it’s stuck on a loading screen. In this case, you can’t even open the App Switcher normally from within the frozen app.
Don’t worry. The method to force-quit a frozen app is almost the same, but you initiate it differently. First, try to open the App Switcher using the standard gesture (swipe up from the bottom and pause). If the app is truly frozen, this might not work.
The foolproof method is to use the physical buttons. Quickly press and release the Volume Up button, then quickly press and release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button (the power button) on the right side of the phone.
Continue holding the Side button. Ignore the “slide to power off” screen that appears. Keep holding until you see the Apple logo. This will force-restart your iPhone, closing every app and refreshing the system. It’s the nuclear option for a single frozen app, but it always works.
After the restart, you can open the App Switcher and swipe away the problematic app’s card if it still appears, ensuring a clean slate.
When You Should Actually Close Your iPhone Apps
As mentioned, iOS is designed to manage background apps intelligently. They are typically in a suspended state, not actively running or using CPU power. However, there are specific scenarios where force-closing is the right move.
Close an app if it’s malfunctioning. This is the most common reason. If an app is crashing, freezing, not loading content, or behaving erratically, force-closing it and reopening it can clear its temporary data and state, often fixing the issue.
Close an app for privacy. If you’ve been using a banking app, a private messaging service, or any app with sensitive information, you might want to close it when you’re done so it’s not visible in the App Switcher to someone glancing at your phone. Remember, the App Switcher can show previews of the app’s last state.
Close an app that you know is misbehaving. Some apps, particularly older ones or certain social media apps, are notorious for continuing background activity like location tracking or audio playback. If you notice battery drain from a specific app, closing it can stop that background process until the developer fixes it.
You’re about to sell, give away, or restart your iPhone. It’s good practice to close all apps before a restart or before handing the device to someone else, just to ensure no sessions are left active.
When You Should Leave Apps Running
For general daily use, leave your apps alone. Constantly swiping away every app after use is a habit you should break. It provides no battery or performance benefit and can actually have the opposite effect.
iOS uses a sophisticated system to freeze apps in memory. When you return to an app that’s suspended, it wakes up almost instantly using minimal energy. If you force-close it, the next launch requires a full reload from storage, which uses more battery and takes longer.
Leave your most frequently used apps—like Mail, Messages, Safari, or your calendar—in the App Switcher. Let iOS manage them. Your phone’s battery life and overall responsiveness will thank you.
Troubleshooting Common App Closing Problems
Even with the correct gesture, you might run into issues. Let’s solve them.
The App Switcher won’t open. If swiping up from the bottom just goes home, you might be swiping too fast. Slow down and consciously pause in the middle of the screen. Ensure your screen isn’t wet or your fingers aren’t too dry, as this can affect capacitive touch. Also, check that AssistiveTouch isn’t enabled in a way that interferes, under Settings > Accessibility > Touch > AssistiveTouch.
You can’t swipe the app card away. Make sure you’re swiping the card itself, not the area below it. Start your swipe on the app preview. If the red minus icons are visible, you can also tap the minus icon, though the swipe gesture is more direct. If the card seems stuck, try a firmer, quicker swipe upward.
Closed apps keep reappearing. When you close an app and then immediately reopen it from the Home Screen, it will, of course, reappear in the App Switcher. That’s normal. If an app you haven’t reopened appears, it might be a visual bug. Try closing the App Switcher and reopening it, or restart your iPhone.
Background App Refresh is causing confusion. This is a different setting. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Here, you can disable refresh for specific apps or turn it off entirely. This prevents apps from updating content in the background but doesn’t “close” them. It’s a better tool for managing battery than force-closing.
Mastering Your New iPhone’s Multitasking
Knowing how to close apps is part of mastering your new device’s multitasking system. The App Switcher isn’t just for closing things; it’s for efficient switching.
You can quickly jump back to your previous app by swiping left or right along the bottom edge of the screen. This is often faster than using the App Switcher carousel.
For power users, you can also use the App Switcher to work with multiple windows of the same app, like multiple Safari tabs or Notes documents. The gestures become second nature with a little practice.
The key takeaway is that your new iPhone is designed to work seamlessly with its gesture-based navigation. Trust the system for daily use, but now you have the knowledge to take manual control when needed—whether an app is acting up or you simply want a fresh start.
Your Actionable Next Steps
First, practice opening the App Switcher. Spend two minutes swiping up from the bottom and pausing until it feels consistent. Then, browse the cards and practice swiping a few non-essential apps away.
Next, audit your habits. Stop force-closing apps out of routine. Instead, use the App Switcher as a quick app launcher and history viewer. Only close an app when you encounter one of the specific scenarios we discussed.
Finally, if you experience persistent battery drain, don’t just close apps. Investigate using the built-in battery analytics in Settings > Battery. This will show you exactly which apps are using power, both on-screen and in the background, guiding you to a real solution.
Your new iPhone is a powerful tool. With this knowledge, you can keep it running smoothly, preserve its battery, and fix common app issues in seconds, making the most of your investment from day one.
