You’re probably doing it wrong. Honestly, most people are. You’re sitting there, swiping away dozens of app windows in that little carousel, thinking you’re saving battery or making your iPad faster. You’re not. In fact, you’re actually making your iPad work harder.
iPadOS is built to handle its own memory. When you "close" an app, you’re actually force-quitting it. That’s a diagnostic tool, not a daily housekeeping chore. But look, I get it. Sometimes an app freezes. Sometimes Netflix just hangs on a black screen and won't budge. In those moments, you really do need to know how to close apps on an iPad properly.
The way you do it depends entirely on whether your iPad is a modern one with a smooth bezel or an older one with that satisfying, clickable Home button. Let's break down the reality of managing your apps without the corporate fluff.
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The Modern Way: iPads Without a Home Button
If your iPad looks like a giant iPhone with no circle at the bottom—think iPad Pro, the newer Airs, or the latest Mini—you’re living in a world of gestures. There is no button to save you here. It’s all about the "flick."
To get started, you have to find the App Switcher. Basically, you swipe up from the very bottom edge of the screen. Don't just flick it and let go, or you'll just go to the Home Screen. You have to swipe up to the middle, pause for a split second until the "cards" appear, and then lift your finger.
Once those cards are staring at you, find the one that’s acting up. Flick it straight up toward the top of the screen. Poof. It’s gone.
What about Stage Manager?
If you’re using Stage Manager (that mode where apps float in windows on the side), things look a bit different. You’ll see your "stages" on the left. You can still use the swipe-up gesture to see everything at once, but you might find it easier to just hit the three little dots at the top of the window and tap "Close."
The Classic Way: iPads With a Home Button
If you’re rocking an iPad that still has the physical Home button, you’re in luck because it’s much harder to mess up. You don't need to master the art of the "pause-and-hold" swipe.
- Double-click that Home button fast.
- The screen will shrink back to show the App Switcher.
- Swipe left or right to find the app you want to kill.
- Flick the app card off the top of the screen.
It’s tactile. It’s simple. It works every time. If you find that double-clicking is a struggle because the button is sticky or your fingers aren't as fast as they used to be, you can actually slow down the required click speed in the Accessibility settings.
Why You Should Stop Closing Apps Constantly
Here is the "expert" secret that Apple’s engineering team, including Craig Federighi, has confirmed multiple times: Closing apps doesn't save battery.
When you exit an app to go to your Home Screen, iPadOS "freezes" that app. It stays in the RAM (the short-term memory) but it isn't using the CPU (the brain). It’s essentially a statue. When you tap it again, it "wakes up" instantly.
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If you force-close that app, you've wiped it from the RAM. Now, when you open it again, the iPad has to load every single bit of data from the storage drive. That takes more power. It’s like turning your car engine off and on at every red light instead of just idling. It wears things down faster and uses more gas.
"You should only close an app if it’s unresponsive." — Official Apple Support Guidance.
How to Close Multiple Apps at Once
There is no "Close All" button on an iPad. Apple doesn't want you to have one because they don't want you doing it. However, if you really want to clear the deck, you can use multiple fingers.
In the App Switcher, you can put two or even three fingers on different app cards and flick them all up simultaneously. It’s a bit of a finger-gymnastics move, but it’s the fastest way to empty the carousel if you're feeling cluttered.
Troubleshooting the "Swipe Up" Not Working
Sometimes, especially after an update like iPadOS 26, the gestures get a little wonky. You swipe up and... nothing. The app just sits there.
First, check if you're in a "Focus" mode that might be restricting certain movements. More likely, it's just a software glitch. Try a "Force Restart." You do this by quickly pressing Volume Up, then Volume Down, then holding the Top Button until the Apple logo appears. This clears out the system junk without deleting your photos or apps. It usually resets the gesture engine so you can go back to swiping normally.
The Real Battery Killers
If you’re trying to learn how to close apps on an iPad because your battery is dying too fast, you’re looking in the wrong place. Don't look at the App Switcher; look at your Settings.
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Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. This is where the real drain happens. Apps like Facebook or Gmail will "wake up" in the background to download new stuff even when you aren't using them. Turning this off for apps you don't care about will save way more battery than swiping them closed ever will.
Also, check Settings > Battery to see the "Battery Usage by App." If you see an app using 40% of your power but you only used it for ten minutes, that app is poorly coded. That is an app you should force-close every time you’re done with it.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check your habits: Stop swiping apps closed unless they are actually frozen or glitching.
- Audit your background apps: Head to Settings and turn off "Background App Refresh" for everything except your most vital messaging or email apps.
- Update your software: Ensure you're on the latest version of iPadOS, as Apple frequently releases patches for gesture-related bugs.