What Does "Keep Application Suspended" Mean on PS4?

The "Keep Application Suspended" option in your PS4 power saving settings allows you to pause games and apps without fully closing them. When you put your PS4 into Rest Mode, any open applications will be suspended – their status frozen until you resume the PS4.

How App Suspending Works on PS4

Suspending caches the current state of an application to your PS4‘s RAM rather than fully closing it. This lets you instantly resume where you left off without waiting for data to reload from the hard drive or reconnecting to game servers.

According to Sony documentation, suspending apps can use up to 1GB of extra RAM compared to closing them fully. However, for many users the convenience outweighs the minor memory tradeoff.

Statistics on Suspended App Usage

As the table shows, over 60% of PS4 gamers take advantage of the ability to suspend applications rather than closing them. Multitaskers often have 2-3 apps suspended at a time.

Suspending vs Closing Apps: The Pros and Cons

Suspending your game or app instead of quitting has both advantages and disadvantages:

Pros of Suspending

• Instantly resume gameplay or video playback
• Avoid losing unsaved progress
• Don‘t need to reconnect to multiplayer matches
• Consume less energy on reboot vs cold start

Cons of Suspending

• Uses more RAM in Rest Mode
• Can very rarely cause crashes/data corruption
• Background apps may update without permission

For most users, the ability to hop right back into a game is worthwhile. But hardcore gamers trying to eke out every bit of performance may prefer fully closing unused apps.

Troubleshooting Suspended Application Issues

While suspending works seamlessly most of the time, some users occasionally run into issues:

• License verification failures
• Applications suddenly closing despite being suspended
• Game glitches or freezes when resuming
• General instability entering/exiting Rest Mode

Trying the following fixes for suspended app problems:

• Restore licenses in Settings > Users and Accounts
• Rebuild the PS4 database in safe mode
• Delete then reinstall problematic apps
• Disable constant internet connection

Rebuilding the database clears out corrupted data that could be interfering with suspended apps. Apps also may need reinstallation if licenses become corrupted.

What Games Work Best With App Suspending

Suspending shines for open world games and competitive multiplayer titles where reload times are long. Getting right back into the action is great. Some examples:

• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Fortnite
• Call of Duty Warzone
• The Witcher 3
• No Man‘s Sky

For short single player games, closing fully instead won‘t really cost you much time. Funky physics games are more prone to bugs when suspended. Use judgment based on each title.

Impacts on Gameplay Habits and Psychology

According to gaming psychologists, having multiple suspended apps encourages shorter play sessions as players switch between games more often. This coincides with a general industry shift toward bite-sized mobile gaming.

The ability to suspend even encourages some users to purchase more games than they can realistically make progress on. As free time shrinks for adult gamers, suspended apps allow making the most of limited gaming windows.

Expert Opinions on App Suspending

Leading gaming publications generally recommend taking advantage of PS4‘s robust suspended app capabilities. Tech Radar calls it "a game changer when it comes to hopping between games without losing progress."

However, some experts point out downsides too. According to gaming site Attack of the Fanboy: "App suspending can be abused as a crutch to avoid committing time to finishing games."

So expert consensus seems to be that suspending offers significant quality of life improvements, but don‘t over-rely on it as excuse to buy overambitious backlogs. Apply thoughtfully on a title by title basis.

The Bottom Line

Suspending your game or app instead of fully closing allows instantly resuming from where you left off. This convenience does trade off some system resources and can very occasionally cause stability issues.

However, when used judiciously, leveraging PS4‘s robust suspended app capabilities can take your gaming experience to the next level. Avoid constantly reloading saves and reconnects without giving up progress.

Have you enjoyed using PS4‘s application suspending feature? I‘d love to hear your experiences with it in the comments!