iOS 4: Trimming Down Your Multitasking App List

iOS 4 added third party app multitasking support to the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, and along with it a seemingly never ending list of every app you’ve launched. You can’t stop your iPhone from adding every app you launch to that list, but at least you can trim it down.

Every app you launch appears in the multitasking list, which can be handy since it offers a kind of quick switching feature that lets you jump from app to app without relaunching. As that list grows, however, you’ll end up flicking through screen after screen — four icons at a time — to find the app you really want to jump to.

Here’s how to trim down your multitasking app list:

  • Double-tap your iPhone’s Home button to show the list of running apps. You’ll see a row of four apps at the bottom of your display.
  • Tap and hold on any of the apps in the multitasking view to enable the familiar looking edit mode with jiggling app icons.
  • Tap the red minus symbol at the upper left corner of the apps you want to quit.

Tap the red circles to quit apps in iOS 4

Trimming down your multitasking app list makes it easier to find the apps you regularly use, and some people have found that their iPhone runs faster when the list is shorter, too.