It seems Google is finally getting around to correcting the battery hogging tendencies of the web browser, particularly on laptops. In fact, Chrome has been at the receiving end of criticism not just from users across a variety of online platforms, but has been targeted by rivals including Microsoft and Apple who have touted their web browsers as better bets simply because they let your laptop last longer on a single charge. Now it seems Google could integrate a new system that shuts down unnecessary JavaScript timers and trackers when a tab is in the background, such as those that check for the last scrolled position, to save on energy consumption.
It is being reported that Google clocked as much as 2 hours of additional battery time on a laptop with the new features enabled, on a Chrome browser with 36 background tabs and one foreground tab. The good folks over at TheWindowsClub report this development, but also caution that the battery usage advantages may not be as apparent if you are using Chrome to view YouTube videos. While this is still an experimental feature in Chrome 86—the version available for all right now is Chrome 83—we still do not know if it will make it to the final release anytime soon.
It has been an interesting time for web browsers this year, ever since Microsoft released the Chromium based Edge browser update for Windows 10, macOS, Android and iOS with significant power saving capabilities built in. Apple has also got a significant advantage with the Safari web browser on Mac computing devices, and the next update rolling out with iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and macOS Big Sur will add further improvements too. Safe to say, even though it is the most used browser in the world right now, Chrome has fallen behind in terms of frugality and power management.
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