Google Chrome update lowers memory usage and battery consumption
Google is rolling out two new performance modes in its Chrome web browser to significantly reduce memory and battery consumption on Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS computers.
Despite its status as the world’s most popular Internet browser, Chrome has gained a notorious reputation for being a RAM and battery resource hog.
Tests have shown that the latest Microsoft Edge browser, based on the same Chromium engine, uses less memory than Chrome.
But the Internet giant said its newly-launched Memory Saver mode consumed up to “40% and 10GB less” RAM.
The feature frees up memory from tabs that aren’t currently in use while keeping high performance on the actively-used tabs.
“This is especially useful if you’re running other intensive applications, like editing family videos or playing games,” Google said. “Any inactive tabs will be reloaded when you need them.”
When the feature is activated, Chrome will show a clickable info box titled “Memory Saver is on” in the right corner of the URL address bar.
Selecting this will show how much RAM was freed up while the tab was inactive.
The second new mode — Energy Saver — maximises uptime on laptops after their battery level drops to 20% or lower.
Google said the mode saved battery by limiting background activity and visual effects for websites with videos and animations.
The toggle for Energy Saver will be available by pressing a button with a leaf icon to the right of the URL address bar.
Google said users could turn both the Memory Saver and Energy Saver features off, or mark important websites, to exempt from the Memory Saver feature.
The settings will be available under the three-dot menu in the top right section of the Chrome interface.
Google is rolling out Memory Saver and Energy Saver gradually over several weeks, so it might not be available on your system yet.
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