Apple

How to Close Apps on iPhone XR

Published

1 year ago

11/23/2022

If you recently upgraded to Apple’s iPhone XR from an older iPhone you may not know how to properly close your phone’s applications.

If you previously owned an iPhone 8, iPhone 7, an older iPhone model, you’re used to closing your applications with the home button.

The iPhone XR, like the iPhone 14 series, iPhone 13 series, iPhone 12 series, iPhone 11 series, iPhone XS and iPhone X, doesn’t have a physical home button which means you have to use screen gestures to close your applications.

You need to use screen gestures to close apps on the iPhone XR.

This might feel a bit intimidating at first, but it should only take you a few days to get acclimated with the new process. In this guide we’ll walk you through it. And once you’ve done it a few times, muscle memory should take over.

Here’s how to close apps on the iPhone XR.

How to Close Apps on iPhone XR

If you want to close an app on your iPhone XR you must pull up the App Switcher function on your phone. Here’s how you do that:

While you’re on the home screen or while you’re in an app, pull up from the bottom of your iPhone XR’s screen and hold for a second. Let go once you see the App Switcher and your app cards.
While you’re in the App Switcher, you can scroll through the apps that are open on your phone by swiping to the left and right.
If you want to close an application, you simply need to swipe up from an app card.

Closing your applications probably won’t improve your iPhone XR’s battery life, but it could improve your device’s performance, especially if you’re using Background Refresh.

When Background Refresh is active, your applications will run in the background which could have an adverse effect on your phone’s performance if it isn’t managed correctly.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 16.7.7 & 10 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 16.7.7 for Better Security

1 / 14

If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's iOS 16.7.7 update on your iPhone right away.

iOS 16.7.7 has new security patches on board, but Apple hasn't revealed them yet. It's likely waiting to release additional software before doing so.

If you want to protect your device from harm, you should install the upgrade sooner rather than later.

If you missed older versions of iOS 16, you'll get the fixes and features from updates you missed when you upgrade to iOS 16.7.7.

iOS 16.7.6 delivered several security patches to iPhone users.

iOS 16.7.5 had nine security patches on board and they're important if you want to keep you device and its data safe from harm.

iOS 16.7.3 delivered several security patches including one that patches up an issue with the Find My app.

iOS 16.7.2 brought several security patches to iPhone models still running iOS 16. Learn more about them here.

iOS 16.7.1 carried two important security enhancements including one that addressed a kernel vulnerability. You can learn more about the pair over on Apple's website.

iOS 16.7 had three security patches on board and you can learn more about them right here.

iOS 16.6.1 brought two important security patches to iPhone. If you're interested in what they patch up, here's Apple's guide.

The iOS 16.6 update featured 16 security patches. For more information about the changes, check out Apple's rundown.

iOS 16.5.1 brought two security patches to iPhone users If you want to learn more, head on over to Apple's website.

The company's iOS Security Response 16.5.1 (c) update also included a security update and you can learn more about it right here.

iOS 16.5 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. You can find out more about them over on Apple's security site.

iOS 16.4.1 included two security upgrades . You can learn more about the pair right here.

Apple's iOS 16.4 update had a substantial number of patches on board. You can read about them in detail over on Apple's security site.

The iOS 16.3.1 update had three security patches on board including one for an actively exploited vulnerability. For more on the security contents of iOS 16.3.1, check out Apple's security page.

iOS 16.3 brought 10+ new security patches with it and you can learn more about all of those right here.

In addition, the software came with support for physical security keys for Apple ID. These will beef up your account security by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process. Learn more about the change right here.

If you skipped iOS 16.2, you'll get its changes with iOS 16.7.7. iOS 16.2 brought a ton of important security patches with it and you can dig into the details on Apple's security site.

The update also brought end-to-end encryption to iCloud, iMessage, iPhone backups, Notes, Photos, and more. If you want to learn more about it, head over to Apple's guide.

If you decided to missed iOS 16.1.2, you'll get its solitary security patch with your upgrade. Learn more about it right here.

If you skipped iOS 16.1.1, you'll get its security patches when you upgrade. You can learn more about them right here.

If you missed the iOS 16.1 update, it brought 19 security patches to the iPhone and you can learn about the particulars of those over on Apple's website.

If you failed to download iOS 16.0.3, it had one security patch on board, a fix for a potential exploit within the Mail app. For more about the fix, check out Apple's security site.

If you're still running iOS 15 your iPhone, you'll get a bunch of other patches when you upgrade.

iOS 16.0 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

In addition to those patches, iOS 16 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including Safety Check which, according to Apple, will help "people in domestic or intimate partner violence situations review and reset the access they’ve granted others."

The feature also resets system privacy permissions for apps and restricts Messages and FaceTime to the device on hand.

Apple's also made some improvements to Passkeys in Safari. iOS 16 brings a brand new sign-in method that's end-to-end encrypted and safe from phishing and data leaks.