Google Chrome won’t drain your Macbook battery as much anymore

Update means Google Chrome should match (or exceed) Safari’s battery life on a Mac

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Up until now, MacBook users seeking the ultimatebrowserfor top battery life have often usedSafari,Apple’s own offering, which has been optimized specifically to work in harmony with the company’s other hardware and software.

However this could all be about to change, with the latest version ofGoogle Chromepromising to match Safari’s level of energy efficiency for simple web browsing tasks.

What’s more, opting to use the recently introduced Energy Saver mode will allow Chrome to even exceed Apple’s battery life predictions.

Chrome laptop battery life

Currently, Apple claims a typical battery life of 17 hours under “wireless web” usage on a 13-inchM2 MacBook Pro, its best performer in terms of battery life.Google’s testing on that same device (without Energy Save mode enabled), and using Chrome 110.0.5481.100, produced an equal prediction.

Additionally, those tests indicate that a user may be able to streamYouTubecontent for 18 hours, though this doesn’t quite match Apple’s 20-hour prediction for streaming on the Apple TV app.

Google said that to improve Chrome’s power usage, it tuned iframes to reduce short-term memory usage, reduced how often Javascript timers wake as developers turn to more efficient APIs, streamlined data structures, and eliminated unnecessary redraws to avoid wasting energy.

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While testing was carried out on the latest Mac hardware, the developers also suggest that similar benefits will be seen on older models. It’s unclear whether this affects previousIntel-based models, or whether it’s a change primarily focused on devices running Apple Silicon.TechRadar Prohas asked Google to confirm this.

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Users looking to eke out the most battery life - on any device - can also choose to enable Energy Saver mode which disables some background activity and visual effects, though the most profound effects are likely to be seen on lower-performance models.

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!

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