How to close all Safari pages at once. And why you don't need to do the same with Apps

A regular iTandCoffee Client yesterday expressed concern that she hadn't 'closed all her iPad apps' lately, and she was worried that this was a problem for her device's performance.

She was also concerned about the number of Safari Tabs she had open, and that it was tedious to close them one-by-one.

I reassured her there was no need to worry about closing any apps on the iPad or iPhone and that, in fact, this is actually counter-productive. And showed her a quick and easy way to close all open tabs in Safari.

Why you DO need to close apps on a computer

If you have ever used a computer, you will hopefully know that it is important to keep the number of running apps under control.

Each app takes up space in the computer's RAM (memory), and having too many apps running - especially if your computer has limited RAM - can cause the computer's performance to degrade.

(Every computer and mobile device has a limited amount of RAM, eg. 4GB, 8GB, 16GB. This is separate to the Hard Drive Storage of the computer - where the files are stored - which is usually from 128GB to several 1TB-2TB on a computer, and usually from 32GB to 1TB on a mobile device.)

Some apps require lots of RAM, and a full RAM can result in the computer working hard to swap other app data in and out of RAM to make room for the active app. And if your computer is low on hard drive storage, this creates further issues, because the swapping of data in and out of RAM requires that there is available hard drive storage. If this is not available, your computer can really mis-behave and even crash.

Why you DON'T need to close apps on the iPhone and iPad

Many people think that the same applies on the iPad and iPhone - that the apps you use need to be closed after use, so that they don't take up space in the device's RAM, and so that they don't slow down the device and degrade the battery. 

In fact, the opposite is true on the iPad and iPhone. Closing apps can degrade the performance and use more battery. 

The iPad and iPhone are different to a computer in their handling of apps. The iPad and iPhone do not keep recently run apps in memory. Only a small amount of data about the apps is kept in memory, allowing any app to easily be returned to its previous state when it is active again. 

Here is a good article that gives you further information about this.

• Why You Shouldn't Constantly Close Apps on Your iPhone

​So, the next time someone tells you that you need to close all those iPhone (or iPad) apps - and perhaps even chastises you for 'having so many apps open' - please enlighten them about this fact.

Quick closing all those Safari pages

We can all end up with lots of Safari tab/pages open, and it can certainly be tedious closing them all one by one.

But there is quick way of closing all tabs in one hit. We cover this tip in Part 11 of our comprehensive tutorial series about Safari (see below).

Here is a very short extract from that video, with details of how to Close All Tabs on the iPad and iPhone. This tip is available to all members of our iTandCoffee Club. (Not yet a member? Learn more and join here.)

Close all Safari Tabs quickly

Safari on the iPad and iPhone - A Series of Video Tutorials for Premium members of the iTandCoffee Club

We have a great series of tutorials about Safari on the iPad and iPhone - available to those of you who have Premium membership of the iTandCoffee Club. (Not sure of your iTandCoffee Club membership level? You can check here. And, if you have one of the other membership levels, here is where you can request an upgrade to Premium.)

These Safari tutorials are available as individual parts using the links below, or view the full video (2:25:15) and slideshow here. (Note. All these videos - and more - are available in our Video Library. Check it out today.)

• ​Part 1 - Introduction and Topics to be Covered  (4:26)
• Part 2 - Lets first talk about Search Engine vs Web Browser (5:51)
• Part 3 - Showing Search Bar at top or bottom on iPhone (2:30)
• Part 4 - Choose the Search Engine associated with the Search bar (2:54)
• ​Part 5 - Search Bar and the new Microphone in iOS/iPadOS 15 (1:34)
• Part 6 - Tips for when viewing a Web Page (Zooming, Saving Images, Opening a tab on new page) (7:14)
• Part 7 - Viewing Web Page and how to Scroll to top really quickly (1:56)

• Part 8 - Viewing a Web Page in the fantastic  Reader Mode (8:56)
• Part 9 - What are those squares that I keep seeing in Safari? (2:53)
• Part 10 - Some Safari navigation tips (5:43)
• Part 11 - Understanding, Viewing and Organising Tabs (15:08)
• Part 12 - Private Browsing for times you don't want history tracked (8:37)
• Part 13 - A look at Tab Groups (New in iOS/iPadOS 15) (10:51)
• ​Part 14 - Customising the Start Page (8:27)

• Part 15 - Setting up and managing Favourites (9:29)
• Part 16 - Any web page as an App on Home Screen (5:41)
• Part 17 - Creating and Managing Bookmarks (11:47)
• Part 18 - Viewing and Managing your Browsing History (9:18)
• Part 19 - Downloads from Safari (9:04)
• ​Part 20 - Other bits and bobs (General Settings, Website Settings, Curating Web Pages, Shared with You, Quick Notes) (12:20)

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