A new update of Google Chrome promises to extend the battery life of yours laptop from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Not everyone perhaps knows that the browser di Google it is the most used on devices, from smartphones and tablets to computers and laptops, but it is also the one that consumes the most battery.
In the last few years, Google has worked constantly to improve the performance of Chrome and in the next update it seems to have reached a tipping point. The optimization plan focused on one aspect that is considered the browser's "silent killer", namely Javascript timers. By increasing the time that background pages are scanned, significant battery savings are achieved, even with dozens of windows open.
How to extend PC battery by two hours with Chrome
By optimizing the Javascript wake-up timer, Google thus points to get better battery performance on any device that uses your browser. In fact, the timers turn on at regular intervals to monitor the scrolling of the web page, advertisements and perform other functions for the correct functioning of Chrome and a better viewing experience. These are processes that are essential to the page we are browsing, but which consume battery if applied to windows that we are not currently using.
To fix this, Google has increased the running time of the Javascript wake-up timer to 1 minute. The test performed on 36 pages open simultaneously on the browser, while the active one is set to "about: blank", resulted extending the battery life by at least 2 hours, that is an increase of 28%.
But hardly an average user leaves it open Chrome on the "blank" page and so Google ran a second test, this time leaving the window open to YouTube playing, with no power saving options or dimming the screen. The result was an extension of the battery about 30 minutes, that is an increase of 13%.
Chrome like Safari: this is how the browser is optimized
If for a laptop an extension of the battery life of 30 minutes is down a satisfactory result, the risk with setting the Javascript wake-up timer to 1 minute is that some pages may not work at their best. For this reason, Google studied a solution already in use in the browser Safari of Apple.
The optimization that allows the delay of Javascript timers applies to background pages only when they have been inactive for at least 5 minutes. A solution that in this way would guarantee the best performance of the Chrome browser. In addition, business users will be able to change and customize this setting so that functionality for business use is not compromised.
Chrome updates, PC battery lasts longer now
