Closing apps through app switcher

[ink701]

Hey everyone, has there been any information on if and how apps can be closed through the app switcher? I love how they implemented the WebOS style multitasking, but it would love it even more if it was possible to close an app the WebOS style as well. Or even have an "x" at the top right corner (but that obviously isn't there.)

 

[pikacz]

i think there's no closing apps on wp7, just tombstoning

 

[jdunn]

i think there's no closing apps on wp7, just tombstoning

When you press the back button when running an application that application is closed and disappears from the app switching menu. Pressing the home button however, will "dehydrate" the app and place it in the switching menu.

The mutlitasking on WP7 is not the traditional multitasking that is on Android and iOS because on those platforms the apps continue to run in the background eating up processing power and battery life. On WP7 they are put into a inactive state which does not use battery or processing power. This is why WP7 is so smooth and the others just aren't. Hope that answered your question.

 

[Baka]

Pardon the dumb question, but what the heck is the "switching menu" and how do I access it?

 

[astraith]

Pardon the dumb question, but what the heck is the "switching menu" and how do I access it?

You can't yet. Its a Mango feature. You access it using a Mango posted phone by prssing and holding the back arrow on your phone. And there ya have it folks!

 

[ink701]

I think tombstoning is great for said reasons. I think it would be more fluid to have the ability to close apps in a single panel (app switcher) than having to go within each app to close it. I hope they add that functionality in the future.

 

[Rhody#WP]

I though I saw a video of someone flicking a task off the screen like WebOS. I could be wrong though.

 

[Xplode22]

I agree with JeffDunn2010 it's not multi-tasking in the eat-my-resources kind of way. If an app is not fully closed out (tombstoned), then it will appear in the task list where it can be brought back to life extremely quickly and from it's last page/state. If you hit the back button until the app completely closed then it won't be in the task list.

Derek Snyder essentially eludes to this in this video: Multitasking on Mango demoed in detail [Video] | wpcentral | Windows Phone News, Forums, and Reviews

It is probably better to multi-task this way for most people because - inevitably - users will forget about apps that they haven't truly closed and those would really eat your resources with true multi-tasking. My parents would constantly have 4-5 apps running all the time!

 

[wheelerk]

I'll have to go back and watch How's demo at mix, but I think I remember him closing out an app while in the task list. Almost like you do when closing out a tab.

Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express

 

[Rhody#WP]

YouTube - ‪WP7 Multitasking Caught on Video‬‏

This is the video I was thinking of but I was mistaken. He didn't show removing a task.

 

[cdook]

@Xplode22 I agree it's a good approach to multitasking. I had a BlackBerry before and the recommendation from the sales reps was remember to fully close apps, don't let them run in the background. WP7 will take this out of users hands and it'll lead to better performance and better battery life.

 

[wheelerk]

YouTube - ‪WP7 Multitasking Caught on Video‬‏

This is the video I was thinking of but I was mistaken. He didn't show removing a task.

Yeah, I agree. I guess the OS handles that for you. I'm ok with that.

 

[Luisraul924]

Does anybody know if we'll be able to dictate how often the background agents pull data? It would be a bummer if the most frequent it would allow for is an hourly refresh. The reason I say this is because I find that I'll check my phone on an average of every 30-45 minutes so with the background agents only updating every hour, the multitasking "illusion" will be shattered for me...

 

[wheelerk]

Does anybody know if we'll be able to dictate how often the background agents pull data? It would be a bummer if the most frequent it would allow for is an hourly refresh. The reason I say this is because I find that I'll check my phone on an average of every 30-45 minutes so with the background agents only updating every hour, the multitasking "illusion" will be shattered for me...

Joe stated that there would settings where users could configure policies on how apps used back ground agents. You will be able to even determine which agent enabled apps would be allowed to use it.

 

[Luisraul924]

Joe stated that there would settings where users could configure policies on how apps used back ground agents. You will be able to even determine which agent enabled apps would be allowed to use it.

I wonder if there will be a "Live" configuration (no pun intended) where they're able to check every few minutes for a "real" multitasking feel.

 

[wheelerk]

I wonder if there will be a "Live" configuration (no pun intended) where they're able to check every few minutes for a "real" multitasking feel.

The developer of the app writes the background agent for his app. WP7 schedules when these agents run in a way that is battery friendly, sometimes periodically for short periods of time when on battery. WP7 then gives the backgroud agent events notifiying it when the user plugs into power and has wifi, allowing the agent to feast on data and that power. And as I mentioned before, users will have settings in the UI to change the policy of wheter a pictular apps agent is running in the background or not.