Google has announced several changes in its Chrome web browser that could extend battery life on MacBooks, increasing the amount of use users can get from a single charge. By improving systems like memory pressure and JavaScript timings, MacBook users can now surf the web via Chrome and watch YouTube videos for longer, with tests running on the MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022) achieving 17 hours of web browsing and 18 hours of video playback. on YouTube.
Google didn’t provide numbers on device battery life prior to this update, so we can’t do a direct before-and-after comparison, however the edge I was able to drain the battery of the same MacBook in 16 hours and 30 minutes while running a variety of everyday tasks. Google performance tests have been conducted using Chrome version 110.0.5481.100And the tech giant claims that the new power improvements will also benefit older MacBooks. François Dore, Chrome developer, confirmed this the edge These improvements will also apply to Windows, Linux, and Android devices in upcoming Chrome releases.
but what he have actually changed? Google has tuned garbage collection and memory compression for recently created iframes (an element that loads another HTML element inside a webpage), which reduces power consumption without affecting long-term memory usage. JavaScript timers – which are created to execute a task or function at a specific time – have been modified to wake the device’s CPU less frequently and to remove outdated timers entirely. Finally, Chrome has been tweaked to discard unnecessary style, layout, paint, raster, and GPU steps on websites, with a similar update also applied to Chrome’s user interface. Most of these improvements should not be discovered by the user.
Google also released a new power saving mode for Chrome earlier this month that extends battery life by limiting any unnecessary background activity on websites, such as visual effects like smooth scrolling on animations or videos. The search giant claims that enabling this mode can give users an additional 30 minutes of browsing time when tested against the same MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022). It’s not much, but every second counts if you’re trying to finish important tasks before your laptop dies.
The Chrome desktop stable channel has been updated to build 110.0.5481.100 on February 14 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, which Google revealed will be rolling out “over the coming days/weeks.” A full list of changes for this release is available for viewing here update history.
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