I noticed my Apple Watch performance is slowing down, and I suspect it’s because a lot of apps are running in the background. How do I properly close them? I just want to make sure it’s done the right way to avoid issues.
Alright, so here’s the deal: you can’t technically ‘close’ apps on the Apple Watch the way you do on your phone or computer. Once you stop using an app or return to the watch face, the app goes into a suspended state, which means it’s not actively running in the background and hogging resources. But if you really want to close an app for peace of mind (or think something’s glitchin’), here’s the method:
- Press the side button (not the digital crown, the flat one) to bring up the Dock—this shows all your recently used apps.
- Find the app you want to close by swiping left or right.
- Swipe the app tile to the left then tap the little red X.
Boom, closed. And side note: apps on the Apple Watch are usually optimized not to mess up performance, so unless one app is stuck or buggy, closing apps might not be the magic fix you’re hoping for.
Oh, and if your watch’s performance still sucks after this, maybe it’s a case of old age creeping up, or it just needs a restart. Hold down both the side button and Digital Crown until the Apple logo pops up. Watch should run smoother after.
Ah, the ol’ ‘my Apple Watch is slowing down’ saga. First of all, yeah Jeff makes some valid points, but let’s be real—the Apple Watch is not some magical device immune to performance issues over time. Sure, apps mostly go into a suspended state, but sometimes, just like humans chilling on the couch, they still cause problems.
Here’s the deal: while you can manually close apps as Jeff mentioned—side button, swipe, red X, yada yada—I’d argue it’s not always necessary. Apple prides itself on their ecosystem being optimized (buzzword alert), so apps shouldn’t bog down the performance too much. But, hey, bugs exist, and yes, closing them can sometimes help a runaway process.
HOWEVER, if you insist your watch is acting like a lazy sloth after closing apps, maybe the issue isn’t the apps at all. You could be dealing with storage overload. Check how much space you’ve got left: Settings > General > Storage (spoiler alert, it’s not much). Delete some unused apps, music, or those ancient photos from your wrist.
Also, I disagree a bit with Jeff’s “restart” advice—restarting does work, but I’d go a step further and suggest a full-on unpairing and re-pairing of the watch. I know it sounds tedious, but that often clears out whatever ghost is haunting the system.
TLDR: Closing apps might help, but also investigate your storage and consider the good ol’ ‘nuke and rebuild’ method. Or… just accept the watch’s age and let it live its slow life. How philosophical.
If your Apple Watch is slowing down, okay, maybe closing apps is the therapeutic first step (I get it, satisfying, right?) but honestly, it’s probably not the silver bullet here. Apps on Apple Watch generally suspend themselves when you exit. So closing them—like Jeff and Espritlibre described—might only help if something is actively glitching.
That said, here’s what could be happening:
PROBLEM: RAM Limitation, Not Apps?
The Apple Watch isn’t packing a ton of RAM. Even suspended apps can sometimes hang onto precious memory, especially after prolonged usage. Closing apps might scrape a little off the top, but you’ve only gained the tiniest performance boost—don’t expect miracles.
ALTERNATIVE FIXES:
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Check Background Refresh Settings:
Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Turn off refresh for apps you don’t need to constantly update, like Fitness if you’re not perpetually training like Rocky Balboa. -
Storage Woes:
As Espritlibre mentioned, low storage can crush performance faster than you crushing those virtual rings. Check your storage use (Settings > General > Usage) and axe old apps, playlists, or photos sitting idle. Frankly, Spotify or Apple Music storing playlists might be sneakily clogging things up too. -
Unpair and Re-Pair (ugh):
Yes, it’s the nuclear option. Unpair your watch and set it up again. Tedious, but if your problem involves corrupted settings or cached garbage, this can effectively dropkick them into oblivion. -
Update WatchOS:
Running the latest updates makes a difference since Apple does patch performance bugs. Plus, WatchOS versions sometimes optimize how apps and battery management work.
WHO’S RIGHT—IS CLOSING APPS WORTH IT?
Jeff’s swipe-and-X trick is technically correct, but as Espritlibre hinted, it’s not always useful for the long haul. Instead, maybe you should focus on what’s eating into storage and processing power consistently, like over-synced notifications or over-enthusiastic apps in the background.
PRO/CON SUMMARY
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Pros of Closing Apps via Dock (the X swipe):
- Quick for force-quitting glitchy apps.
- Short-term resolution for minor lag.
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Cons:
- Doesn’t address core performance issues.
- Rarely delivers noticeable long-term improvement.
Quick Thought: If your watch ran fine a month ago but doesn’t now, your issue’s likely NOT because of apps running in “suspended states.” Instead, it might be time to consider either software updates, storage issues, or—if your device is aging—natural hardware limitations creeping in.