GOOGLE CHROME’S LATEST UPDATE EXTENDS MACBOOK BATTERY LIFE

Fri 03 March 2023:

Tech giant search Google has announced various updates to its Chrome web browser that will increase the battery life on MacBooks, extending the usage users can get from a single charge.

With improved systems like memory compression and JavaScript timers, search MacBook users can now browse the web via Chrome and can watch YouTube videos for a longer period of time, reports The Verge.

In tests, a search MacBook Pro 13 (M2, 2022) was able to browse the web for 17 hours and play YouTube videos for 18 hours.

According to Francois Doray, a software developer for Chrome, these optimisations will also be applied to Windows, Linux, and Android devices in coming Chrome releases.

The company earlier didn’t provide any figures, so it is not possible to directly compare the battery life of the device before and after this upgrade, the report said.

Meanwhile, last month, the tech giant had rolled out the Memory and Energy Saver modes for Chrome on Mac, Windows, Linux as well as Chromebooks.

Battery saving features

If you missed the original announcement in December, Chrome’s new Memory Saver feature optimizes resource utilization by prioritizing active tabs and other applications (via 9to5Google). Inactive tabs are snoozed and relinquished to the background but remain visible in the tab strip, and you can revisit an inactive tab to reload it and check the Omnibox notification to see how much RAM Memory Saver has freed for other tasks.

Energy Saver is relatively similar but works to reduce Chrome’s battery consumption on notebooks and Chromebooks. You can configure Energy Saver to start as soon as your battery level drops below 20%. When active, you’ll see a leaf icon beside the Omnibox and a lack of heavy visual effects. Google explains it achieves these battery savings by disabling smooth scrolling and website animations, all while reducing video frame rates.

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