It is a widely held belief that closing background apps on an iPhone can help save some precious battery life. It appears that this is just a myth as a top Apple executive claims that apps running in the background do not use battery or other iPhone system resources. This means that closing them is just a waste of time.

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The discussion apparently started when one online reader sent an email to Apple chief executive officer Time Cook asking whether shutting down background apps can help extend an iPhone's battery life. The email eventually found its way to Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi who bluntly responded "no" to the question.

When social media users eventually wind up with the story, they wondered whether it was really Federighi who responded to the reader's email. Online blog site 9to5 Mac confirmed that the headers on the messages were confirmed and verified as legitimate.

The fact whether background apps consume battery life have been debated ever since Apple released the multitasking feature on in iOS 4 operating system back in 2010. Poor battery life is one of the top complaints among mobile phone owners who have created several tech myths to support their claims.

A quick search on the Apple support page and one will know that closing an app is not necessary unless it is completely frozen. The support document reads, "Generally, there's no need to force an app to close unless it's unresponsive. When you press the Home button two times quickly, the recently used apps that appear aren't open. They're in an efficient standby mode to help you navigate and multitask."

Smartphone users have constantly searched and created tips and tricks on how to preserve battery life on their devices. In the case of iOS and iPhone devices, owners can substantially increase the battery life of their smartphones by doing simple things like turning off Push Emails, Location Services and adjusting the screen brightness.

Apple even claims that it is just a waste of time and battery when users try to shut down background apps since it has no direct effect. Moreover, Apple said that not unless the Background App Refresh option is turned on, users will be pleased to know that background apps does not eat up system resources or battery power.