If you've been using Windows 8 for a while, you might have noticed that in Windows 8.1, when you close an app by dragging it down, it stays in memory. However, it stays in a suspended state, meaning the app stays on the system without using any processor power and using only a tiny fraction of memory (less than 1MB for well-coded apps).
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 How-To Guide | 2015-07-15 17:42:15 |  2,294 Views |
How to close running apps or programs in Windows® 8.1
All this means that apps in Windows 8.1 still work like they do on smartphones. There's no need to close them. The operating system is smart enough to keep many suspended (also known as "doomed") apps. When your PC needs more resources to perform a more difficult task, Windows automatically closes all necessary apps by checking and closing the oldest ones first. And don't worry, when you return to an app, it will resume where you left off.
While this is great technology, there may be times when a particular Metro-style app becomes unresponsive or causes problems and you need to force close the app. In Windows 8.1, you now have to drag an app down and hold until a flip animation appears, then release to close it (this also applies to Windows RT 8.1).
It is worth mentioning that this method of closing apps in Windows 8.1 only works for a few apps such as Internet Explorer, Reading List, Calculator, Sound Recorder and a few more. In other words, it works for the new modern apps released for 8.1. Other apps like News, Netflix, Contacts, etc. will close seconds after quitting as you are used to in Windows 8.
