How to Use a Custom Gesture to Clear All Apps from Your iPhone's App Switcher

 


Your iPhone's app switching interface can get cluttered and chaotic in hours. You can force-quit all apps at once if you want your app switcher to be clean and tidy.

Closing an app on your iPhone won't improve battery life or speed up iOS.

Apple recommends that you "close an application only if it is unresponsive." This is because iOS optimizes background apps to free up resources for the apps you are currently using. These apps may not open as fast and can cause battery drain.

If you prefer a cleaner app switcher to a slightly slower startup time and battery life, you can force-quit all running, refreshing, and suspended background apps. Apple does not provide an easy way for you to close all the apps in the app switcher. However, it doesn't prevent you from closing multiple applications at once.

How to force quit multiple iPhone apps

You already know how to close an app using the app switcher. Swipe up on the card until it disappears. You can also use the same technique to exit multiple apps simultaneously. You can swipe up as many app cards simultaneously as you like, with one finger per, and you will quickly go through your entire list. This trick works in landscape or portrait orientation.




A custom gesture makes it more accessible.

It can be very fast to use multiple fingers simultaneously to close more than one app at once. However, it can also be frustrating if hundreds of apps are in your app switcher. Automating the whole experience with an AssistiveTouch gesture can make it easier and more efficient. Go to:

·    iOS 13-15

·    iOS 12 or lower: Settings General -> Accessibility and AssistiveTouch

Next, create the swipe gesture you would use to close multiple apps. Choose "Save" and give the motion a name. After you're done, tap "Save," then enable AssistiveTouch. There are many ways to do this:

·    You can toggle it in the AssistiveTouch preferences.

·    Ask Siri to turn on AssistiveTouch.

·    Double-click the Side but or Home button if Accessibility Shortcuts are enabled.

The screen will now have the AssistiveTouch icon overlayed. Open the app switcher and touch the AssistiveTouch buttons. Next, tap the Custom button to create your gesture. Next, drag and connect the icons to their correct positions. The app cards will disappear from the screen if everything is aligned correctly. Tap the gesture dots to continue the action until the app switcher is empty.





Get your Custom Gesture faster to Access.

The top-level menu can be customized to make it easier for you to access AssistiveTouch's custom gesture. Select "Customize Top Level Menu" from the AssistiveTouch preferences. Next, add a new control or swap out one of the shortcuts to create your custom gesture. This will allow you to start the motion immediately after opening the AssistiveTouch Menu.






However, it's still not as fast as you would like. You can assign your automation to open whenever you double-tap the AssistiveTouch button on-screen to make it even quicker. Unfortunately, custom actions can't be added to the single tap shortcut.







Although the custom gesture doesn't work as fast as the dedicated "Clear All" button in the app switcher menu, you shouldn't expect Apple to add that feature anytime soon. The custom gesture is not an option if you don't want to jailbreak your iPhone. It will allow you to stop swiping card after card.