Best Auto App Killer app

[Crashdamage]

1. I said I didn't want to get into a long technical argument because that's not what I visit this forum to do. I'm here to try to help people with problems with short, concise answers.

2. With battery power at such a premium and any improvement such a competitive advantage, don't you think if fine manual control offered any measurable improvement in efficiency (it does not) that it would be included by default, at least as an option buried in the settings for advanced users?

3. If such control were offered it would be useless for 99.9% of users and confusing for 99.9% of those who find it.

4. The thread linked is populated by more users who are not concerned with what actually works, particularly for average users, but with control simply for the sake of control.

5. I haven't seen any proof anywhere that worrying about processes or memory *actually matters*. IOW, does such anal-retentive concern about what the OS is doing make a difference in the real world or serve any practical purpose? I say no. Google's engineers agree.

Linux user #266351. Android since v1.0

 

[pool_shark]

1. I said I didn't want to get into a long technical argument because that's not what I visit this forum to do. I'm here to try to help people with problems with short, concise answers.

2. With battery power at such a premium and any improvement such a competitive advantage, don't you think if fine manual control offered any measurable improvement in efficiency (it does not) that it would be included by default, at least as an option buried in the settings for advanced users?

3. If such control were offered it would be useless for 99.9% of users and confusing for 99.9% of those who find it.

4. The thread linked is populated by more users who are not concerned with what actually works, particularly for average users, but with control simply for the sake of control.

Linux user #266351. Android since v1.0

1. Typically I agree with you, but you have to know your audience. I speak in simple terms with the least degree of explanation to my users at work. However, when a DBA reaches out to me with a question, I let them have the full meaning.

2. No, but that isn't the point. Android is about freedom. It would be nice to offer the freedom to those of us who know how to use it.

3. Agreed, but if it was an option, the 99% wouldn't have to use it.

4. Agreed, which is what I want since I know how to use it.

 

[lunatic59]

I disagree with the first part simply because it is more efficient to have apps I am going to use in suspension instead of apps I'm not going to use, which is why I force close the apps that I don't use frequently. To me that makes better use of the memory because the only apps in suspension are the ones I use regularly.
I do agree with the last part of your statement.

Theoretically, yes. Practically ... hmmm. I am an IT manager in a logistics company that handles distribution and I have people ask me all the time to find more efficient ways of doing things. Sure I can shave 2 minutes off a process which can save us 200 man-hours per year at an average of $50/hr. It will cost $10k, take 8 weeks to complete and require 50 hours per year of administration @$150/hr. Bottom line is no return on investment will be seen until year 5. And by then the process will most likely be in need of revision or replacement.

The only way to measure this would be to have two identical device that perform the same tasks in the same sequence with one having apps stopped and the other not and seeing if there is a measurable difference. Of course we've then got the cost of a second device, the cost of a second account with a carrier and the time spent to record the data for analysis. The best outcome would possibly save a few seconds per process. The worst would be to discover there was no difference. Reality would most likely be somewhere in the middle. Even with the best outcome, it's not much of a benefit when the costs are weighed against it.

Agree to disagree.

 

[Petegunns]

I am not a task killer guy myself, but why does android give you the option to force close an app when viewing the app details if it is such a no no?

Also for my education, if you are rooted as I am, might one consider adjusting the oom values to raise/lower the "aggression" the system will use to release memory?

And finally, why not use an app that allows a rooted user to control when/if other apps start, and essentially block the autostart capabilities of nonessential apps!?

This is not an attempt to throw gas on the fire... the thread just got me thinkin'...

 

[Rxpert83]

I am not a task killer guy myself, but why does android give you the option to force close an app when viewing the app details if it is such a no no?

Also for my education, if you are rooted as I am, might one consider adjusting the oom values to raise/lower the "aggression" the system will use to release memory?

And finally, why not use an app that allows a rooted user to control when/if other apps start, and essentially block the autostart capabilities of nonessential apps!?

This is not an attempt to throw gas on the fire... the thread just got me thinkin'...

Good questions , I'll try to address each of them

1)There are good reasons to be able to selectively kill an app. Apps can misbehave & hold the system awake in what is known as a wake lock. When this happens, it is perfectly OK to kill that app.

That is much different from killing it every time you close it.

2) Many developers do mess with the aggressiveness of the devices. This can have a wide range of effects and its difficult to find that sweet spot where it releases the memory when its no longer needed but wont kill apps when you're trying to multitask.

3) Many already do this in a more direct way. They just uninstall the nonessential system apps they dont use. (Do this with caution)

 

[ortrigger]

I am not a task killer guy myself, but why does android give you the option to force close an app when viewing the app details if it is such a no no?

Also for my education, if you are rooted as I am, might one consider adjusting the oom values to raise/lower the "aggression" the system will use to release memory?

And finally, why not use an app that allows a rooted user to control when/if other apps start, and essentially block the autostart capabilities of nonessential apps!?

This is not an attempt to throw gas on the fire... the thread just got me thinkin'...

Force closing an app is different than using a task killer. That option is there for when an app hangs/freezes or otherwise has a legitimate reason to be closed.

There are ongoing discussions as to whether changing oom/minfree values actually has any benefit. In my personal opinion, changing those values became obsolete with later versions of ICS and the release of JB.

There are apps that allow you to keep an app from autostarting. One example that comes to mind is Rom Toolbox. I have used it too and found it to be mostly placebo for my devices. If you want, you can try it and see if it affects the performance of your device. Just be careful of what you do as it can lead to problems.

 

[Petegunns]

For some reason tapatalk won't let me thank replies to my post. Hopefully this is temporary, but in the meantime, thanks for your insights. :thumbup:

 

[syemon]

Very technical discussion but as someone relatively new to android coming from ios my experience of auto task killers is that it made my galaxy s3 laggy so I turned it off.
I still have it as a go to if I get any issues or hangs but have had none in the last two months of heavy use.
Good info on the thread which is handy to know.