Better multitasking menu

[RahulRana]

Why is there no option to close apps in the multitasking menu? This is another tweak that many users have been requesting. Whether you tap a cross or you can swipe them away, the ability to close running apps from this menu would be good. No one wants to have to go into the app in order to close it.

 

[Sekyal]

I don't believe it is official yet, but it may be part of the WP8.1 update.

 

[eric12341]

Personally I don't think there's a need to close an app especially since it isn't really running once it gets pushed to the back stack. Apps don't consume any ram or battery life when in the back stack unless they have a running background task.

 

[fardream]

Personally I don't think there's a need to close an app especially since it isn't really running once it gets pushed to the back stack. Apps don't consume any ram or battery life when in the back stack unless they have a running background task.

but it is necessary to kill the tombstone instance if I choose to start anew. Especially when an app is stuck somewhere. Or am I just too lazy to "press back button like you are crazy"?

 

[spectre51]

I agree there should be a way to close and app that isn't behaving right. If they only made it a quick swipe down in the multitasking window to close the app that would be great.

 

[FinancialP]

Personally I don't think there's a need to close an app especially since it isn't really running once it gets pushed to the back stack. Apps don't consume any ram or battery life when in the back stack unless they have a running background task.

Man I wished more people understood this.

Thank you

 

[a5cent]

Why is there no option to close apps in the multitasking menu? This is another tweak that many users have been requesting. Whether you tap a cross or you can swipe them away, the ability to close running apps from this menu would be good. No one wants to have to go into the app in order to close it.

Hopmedic answered your question here. In a nutshell... because there is no technical necessity for it. Furthermore, and on a somewhat abstracter note:

At the core of the WP experience lies the idea, that users shouldn't be required to micromanage any aspect of their phone.

That rule is particularly important for scenarios that are purely technical in nature, like manually managing app lifecycles. If you forget everything you know about computers (and Android) and think only about the things you use a smartphone for and how it should function, having to manually close apps starts to sound rather absurd, does it not?

Anyway, the "only" reason people desire a close-feature (beyond it being familiar), is because they're looking for a way to better deal with poorly designed apps (i.e. having to spam the back button to close them) or some OS level bug. While the demand for a close-button is understandable, adding an OS level feature specifically to ease "defect management", is a terrible idea. That is similar to being sick, but dealing only with the symptoms instead of curing the illness.

For all the reasons I've seen mentioned so far (including those mentioned in this thread), there are better and director solutions, which solve those issues at their source, instead of doing so indirectly via an OS supported close-feature.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not criticizing anyone for wanting a close-feature. I understand the need. The close-feature just isn't the right solution to those problems...

 

[OzRob]

At the core of the WP experience lies the idea, that users shouldn't be required to micromanage any aspect of their phone.

If that's true, why does the OS force us to micromanage things like volume and the number of live tile apps we have installed?

 

[Christian Sosa]

I never even tried closing an app... Just figured the OS would manage it. Phone runs perfect Nokia Lumia 928.

 

[lewis0663]

I don't think we need one. iOS has this feature but few of then would close them. And for Android, even if you closed them, they are still running in the background. So for WP, we don't need one , because the OS is handling better we are.

 

[kokola95]

I think closing app is highly needed for a growing os such as wp. Lots of app don't work well in wp including whatsapp. My whatsapp often crashed, i cant open and close it so the only to solve it is restarting my phone which takes a long time. If i could close apps from multitasking menu i wouldn't have to restart my phone i would just close the app and re open it again with a new session

 

[Sanjay Chandra]

If that's true, why does the OS force us to micromanage things like volume and the number of live tile apps we have installed?

There is no need to manage them..........

Is there a rule that you must tinker volume control and number of live tile apps everytime ? As far as iOS/WP is concerned , We are focused more on apps and user experience rather than baby sitting the device.

Do you like baby sitting the device ? Fine.......

but that's not how i treat mobile device , I only do that on desktop.

 

[a5cent]

If that's true, why does the OS force us to micromanage things like volume and the number of live tile apps we have installed?

Because it's impossible to flawlessly and perfectly turn a vision + design principles into a real product? Because MS felt that adding multiple volume settings would go against their design philosophy, by requiring people to micromanage multiple volume settings instead of just offering a simple to understand single volume rocker? Because bugs get in the way of a vision becoming reality?

I didn't want to imply that WP is a perfect device, completely void of technical management. Freeing users from all such management responsibilities is a stated goal of the WP team however.

I would agree with you that a separate media volume setting would simplify management, but I also see how MS could make a counterargument about wanting to keep things as simple as possible. I don't know what there current thinking is on the matter.

 

[OzRob]

There is no need to manage them..........

Is there a rule that you must tinker volume control and number of live tile apps everytime ?

mmmm....do you listen to music on your WP using headphones? I do, and I need to turn the volume down otherwise I'll go deaf. When I've stopped listening to music I have to turn the volume up again otherwise I can't hear the phone ring in my pocket and I miss calls. When I get to the office I need to turn the volume down again 'cause I don't want everyone glaring at me when I get a call. When I leave the office, I have to put the volume back up again otherwise I'll miss calls when it's in my pocket. When I get on the bus to go home I have to turn the volume down again before I plug my headphones in to listen to music on the commute home.

With my old Android phone I could do all of that without touching the phone. With Windows Phone I have to bugger around with the volume controls all the time.

Not sure how you use a mobile phone, but it sure aint the same way I do if you think you don't need to 'tinker' with the volume control on a Windows Phone.

An in case you hadn't noticed, Live Tiles stop updating if you install too many apps with Live Tile support. So you have to micro manage this if you want your Live Tiles to keep being live. It's not a question of wanting to, it's a necessity.

 

[a5cent]

Lots of app don't work well in wp including whatsapp. My whatsapp often crashed, i cant open and close it so the only to solve it is restarting my phone which takes a long time.

Like I said, those are the worst possible reasons to ask for a close-feature. Fix the problem! Don't add features to the OS with the sole purpose of making it easier to live with defective apps. Over time, such an approach just leads to a bloated mess of an OS.

 

[OzRob]

Because it's impossible to flawlessly and perfectly turn a vision + design principles into a real product? Because MS felt that adding multiple volume settings would go against their design philosophy, by requiring people to micromanage multiple volume settings instead of just offering a simple to understand single volume rocker? Because bugs get in the way of a vision becoming reality?

I didn't want to imply that WP is a perfect device, completely void of technical management. Freeing users from all such management responsibilities is a stated goal of the WP team however.

I would agree with you that a separate media volume setting would simplify management, but I also see how MS could make a counterargument about wanting to keep things as simple as possible. I don't know what there currint thinking is on the matter.

Windows Phone is meant to be an operating system for 'smart' phones. Simple is one thing, but dumb is another. And dumbing things down on a smart phone for the sake of simplicity is the wrong way to go IMO. Better to keep the system smart, powerful and configurable, but make the system simple by designing the interface and user experience better. Separate volumes for different functions doesn't need to be complicated, if it's designed well (and Android is not the gold standard here). But rather than taking up the challenge and designing it well so it's both effective and easy to use, MS has opted to drop the option all together, which makes the phone OS dumber and the wrong way to go IMO.

 

[a5cent]

^ I am not arguing against that. I too would appreciate better volume controls. I agree that in their strive toward minimalism and simplicity, they axed one configuration option too many. All I'm saying is that our position is just a subjective opinion. We are discussing design choices, and as much as we may dislike them, there are valid arguments to be made against our prefered solution/approach. You can even find a few of those opposing opinions on this forum.

There is no stone slab on which are written the 10 commandments of smartphone design, which must be followed in order for a device to be considered a smartphone.

 

[TechFreak1]

Lol that is the first thing I tried when I tried WP7 and WP8, instinctively I tried to slide down to close on the demo units but that didn't work the store reps thought i was loopy. I was perplexed why you needed to press back to close.. but after a few days use with my L920 i got used to it now i always close tabs first then press back to close internet explorer.

It is in the WP 8.1 or it might be in the GDR updates where you can close the tombstone apps by tapping the corner.

 

[a5cent]

...but after a few days use with my L920 i got used to it now i always close tabs first then press back to close internet explorer.

Yeah, I think we pretty much all do that now, but it sucks.

IMHO all MS must do is add software based forward- and backward-navigation buttons to IE's app bar. The hardware back button would no longer be used to navigate web pages. It would retain only the ability to take us out of IE, but it would henceforth do so with but a single tap. As a bonus, it would even allow us to navigate backwards through previously visited web pages, even after returning to IE via the task switcher. That isn't currently possible either.

In a nutshell, navigation in IE is broken. Interestingly, fixing it doesn't just fix navigation, but also gives us a way to exit IE quickly and easily. Quicker and easier than if we had to do it via the task switcher.

It is in the WP 8.1 or it might be in the GDR updates where you can close the tombstone apps by tapping the corner.

Don't count on it.

 

[Bicpug]

In theory apps don't consume any power when in the background, but i've had my battery hammered by them now and then.