Google Chrome is about to get less power and memory hungry (Update: Roll out)

Update: February 20, 2023: Chrome’s new battery-saving and memory-saving features are starting to roll out globally today, according to Android Police. The two optimization features will come to Chrome 110 on desktops for Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks. Both battery saver and memory saver will be enabled by default, but can be disabled by going to the Performance tab in system settings.

Original article: December 8, 2022: It’s no secret, despite how much you may like using Chrome over other browsers, that it is a power- and memory-hungry machine. But Google is fixing that problem with an update that will bring two new optimization features.

Google has announced that it has built a battery-saving feature and a memory-saving feature for Chrome on desktop. The company states that it will be rolling out the new performance settings starting now and should be available globally to everybody on Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS over the next several weeks.

According to the tech giant, memory saver mode will make it so the browser uses 30% less memory than before. The feature is aimed at keeping your tabs running smoothly. As described by Google, if you have a bunch of tabs open, memory saver frees up memory from the tabs you’re not using. The inactive tabs are reloaded when you come back to them.

Unlike the memory saver feature, the battery saver only kicks on when your computer’s battery level dips to 20%. When you reach 20%, the setting will start limiting things like background activity and visual effects for websites with animations and videos.

If you’re fine with Chrome just the way it is, the company states that users can turn off either setting. Additionally, memory saver will allow you to mark the websites you want to keep exempt from the feature.

If the settings have already landed on your browser, you’ll be able to find them by clicking on the three dots in the Chrome menu.