It is actually very well done . . . as Apps that have been started do not run in the background if they are not needed to run. They do not even take up RAM space. . . or cache space. It really doesn't matter how many are "running" because they are not "running" at all. They are terminated but ready to rapidly reload and run. Yes, some apps are running, because they are designed to do so, but the vast majority are not. My iPhone lasts for two days with multiple apps "running" in the background. I may go through and quit apps I haven't used in sometime, once a month or so. . . but it really isn't necessary. The ones I do regularly quit are Maps (which can continue to navigate while in the background), iTunes, and anything else that is designed to play in the background. Everything else is pretty much innocuous.
Interesting. I’ve found consistent behavior where, with 15-20 apps “running,” that internet connectivity just stops. DNS doesn’t seem to resolve. The progress bar moves 10% and stalls. Rush episodes just get the spinning icon and stall. Podcasts will continue to play.. The Chrome and AdBlocker apps do a little bit better than Safari, but not much. I’ve found the steps I outlined get things back to normal until the next time it happens. This is worse on the iPhone (6 Plus) than the iPad 2. It sure does act like a RAM limitation.