While Google Chrome is undoubtedly the fast and most used web browser in the world, it is often criticized for being a power-hungry browser as it uses a massive amount of the system’s memory and battery life to let you browse in seamless continuity.
To address this, the U.S. tech giant back in December 2022 previewed two new features: Memory Saver and Energy Saver for Chrome on Mac, Windows, Linux, as well as Chromebooks, designed to improve the performance of its web browser and extend the battery life of the system.
Now, the search giant is finally rolling out the above two new features, as part of the Chrome 110 stable release, for desktops for Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks.
Memory Saver In Chrome
The Memory Saver mode on Chrome “frees up memory from tabs you aren’t currently using” so the active tabs and other apps get more computer resources while browsing and you have the smoothest possible experience.
The memory saver feature is especially useful if you are running other intensive applications, like editing family videos or playing games. According to Google, this feature reduces Chrome’s memory usage by up to 30 percent.
Further, any inactive tabs will snooze and remain visible in the tab strip and become automatically active again when you go navigate to them. Chrome will indicate an inactive tab with a speedometer icon in the address bar that the tab was frozen and is now “Active Again.”
Furthermore, when you click on the icon it will show a message that how much data was saved when the tab was inactive. The notification popup will read, “While this tab was inactive, Memory Saver freed up ‘XMB’ of memory for other tasks.”
Additionally, Chrome also allows users to add sites directly to the “Always keep these sites active” list in the event they face issues or don’t want the tabs to refresh after not working on the computer for a while.
There is also an option to exempt your most important websites from Memory Saver so that they are always running at the maximum possible performance.
Energy Saver In Chrome
The Energy Saver mode on Chrome aims to reduce battery consumption on notebooks and Chromebooks. This feature can be activated when your device battery level reaches 20% while browsing the Web with Chrome.
When enabled, Chrome conserves battery power by limiting background activity and visual effects, such as smooth scrolling and video frame rates. The energy saver feature can also be activated as soon as you unplug your computer from a power source.
When Energy Saver is active, it will be denoted by a leaf icon to the right of the Omnibox with the ability to quickly disable it along with a few visual effects in the tab you are using.
The new Memory and Energy Saver features are live and enabled by default on devices running Chrome 110. However, users can turn these features off/on at any time by going to Chrome Settings under Performance (in the sidebar).
In case you are still unable to see the feature, you can also enable them manually by using the following Chrome Flags:
- chrome://flags/#battery-saver-mode-available
- chrome://flags/#high-efficiency-mode-available
