Google announced two new performance settings for Chrome: Energy Saver and Memory Saver.
Current browsers require a lot of memory to run optimally. For users with 32GB of RAM, that’s not an issue. Chrome, however, can quickly slow down machines with low RAM capacity, which is what Google wants to fix.
According to Google, Memory Saver allows users to cut Chrome’s memory demands by up to 30 percent. The feature puts inactive tabs in sleep mode. Users can reload the tabs as needed. In turn, Energy Saver limits background activity and visual effects for websites with video or animation when a user’s battery life goes below 20 percent.
Chrome 108
The features are coming with the release of Chrome 108, which is due in a few weeks. They’ll be available worldwide for ChromeOS, Windows and macOS. Users can turn off the features entirely or configure the features to prevent some sites from going to sleep.
Google unveiled the updates a day after Microsoft announced that a performance feature in Edge put 1.38 billion tabs to sleep in September alone. The tech giant claims that sleeping tabs reduce memory consumption by up to 83 percent.
Microsoft was first
Microsoft rolled out versions of Google’s new features a couple of years ago. The tech giant made further improvements with the release of Edge 100 earlier this year. The browser comes with a gaming mode that can reduce CPU usage when it detects that users are running a game.
Chrome has been notorious for hogging resources for a while now. Poor memory management has not stopped the browser from dominating the market, given Google’s standing as gatekeeper extraordinaire. The coming features could prove to be game-changers.
12 hours ago
