Apps Exiting apps: home vs back button

[omnius]

From my layman understanding of how android OS works, leaving an app via the home button will place the app in a "pause" state but not remove it from memory until the OS decides it has been paused a while and wants the resources for something else.

Using the back button is supposed to tell the OS that you're done with the app and take the service out of memory usage *IF* the app was coded well enough to cooperate.

But I've noticed on my phone that no matter which method I've used, when I open the stock task manager the apps remain as running services regardless. So does it make any difference on my battery life and system resources which method I use?

 

[JamTheMan]

All of this depends on how the developer created the app, and how it handles shutdowns. It is easy to keep the app running when the back button is clicked - or at least leave a background service running even though the actual app has been shut down. In many cases developers have simply forgot to close their service when it is no longer needed.

If the programmers are any good, they will at least make the service so it does not do anything when it is not critically needed, and therefore it shouldn't take much of your battery or processing power, while just being ready in the background listening for whatever.

But it is all up to the developer what happens when you try to close the app...

 

[ftgg99]

Aah, no. Its not up to the developer.

A service cannot be stopped by pressing the back button.

Pressing the home button will open the home screen, not exit the app.

 

[omnius]

Right but will that app be using more resources than leaving it via the back button? My understanding is that android simply reclaims the resources either as needed or if that app is not actively on screen for a period of time.