Google Chrome’s New Memory Saver, Energy Saver Modes Can Extend Battery Life

You might not always notice it, but Google Chrome is a memory- and power-intensive application that can be a drain on your machine. That, however, could all soon change, with Google introducing two new optimisation solutions for the popular browser.

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The search engine giant announced the new performance settings, Memory Saver and Energy Saver, are rolling out to everybody on Windows, macOS and ChromeOS over the next several weeks, as part of Chrome's M108 build on desktop.

Memory Saver frees up memory from tabs you aren’t using to maintain the smoothest possible experience while browsing. The inactive tabs are then reloaded when you open them again. The mode can reduce memory usage by up to 30%, which, according to Google, can be especially useful if you're running other applications in the background, such as editing software or a game, to name a few examples.

Meanwhile, Energy Saver activates when your laptop’s battery level drops to 20% while you’re browsing with Chrome. The mode limits background activity and visual effects for websites with animations and videos, so you can browse longer before needing to charge.

Credit: Google

You'll also be able to manually turn off either setting if you want, as well as mark important websites to be exempt from Memory Saver. You can find these controls under the three-dot menu in your Chrome browser.

Google said it wanted to bring the two new settings to Chrome because performance is more than just about speed.

Earlier this year, Google celebrated the release of Chrome’s M99 build, claiming it recorded the highest score to date of any browser in Apple’s Speedometer responsiveness benchmark. Chrome was said to have been 7% faster than that period’s build of Safari and up to 43% faster than it initially was when it launched on M1-based Macs in late 2020.

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• Google introducing two new optimisation solutions for Chrome: Memory Saver and Energy Saver.

• Memory Saver frees up memory from tabs you aren’t using to maintain the smoothest possible experience while browsing.

• Energy Saver activates when your laptop’s battery runs low and limits background activity and visual effects for websites with animations and videos.