A new Chrome feature will hopefully keep websites from obliterating your battery

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Chrome is trying hard to shake off its reputation as a battery-draining browser. Just last month, we learned about Google’s plans to introduce a new feature that can potentially increase battery life by a staggering 28%, which means an additional two hours of battery use in most cases.

According to TheWindowsClub, the upcoming feature, called Battery-Savings Meta Tag, will make your battery last longer while doing the same amount work on your laptop. The new battery-saving measure will limit CPU consumption, which means the battery won’t be too loaded, which in fewer words means longer battery life. They believe that this will be extremely beneficial when visiting video-conferencing and video streaming websites such as Zoom.

At first, Google will put this feature to the test on Chrome v86 and Chrome v87.

How will this work?

Websites will need to include new code on their pages. The code is a meta delivery mechanism that will need to slow down script execution and reduce the framerate. The websites will need to adjust their scripts based on the battery-saving settings used by the given device.

When these changes come to Chrome, websites won’t be able to tell whether your device is in battery saving mode or not. Instead, the website will basically tell Chrome, “Hey, this website is pretty resource-intensive, here are some recommended battery settings to help keep the user going for longer.”

Why is Chrome tackling this issue now?

The simple fact is that Chrome is already feeling the pressure from Microsoft’s new browser – Edge. In a very short period, Microsoft’s Edge became the second most used desktop browser, passing Mozilla Firefox. 

At the same time, Chrome’s reputation as a “battery hog” doesn’t seem to go away. That’s why Chrome is taking aggressive steps to address this issue that has been attached to the browser for many years.

What do you think? Do you feel like Chrome kills your battery quicker than other browsers? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Microsoft finally releases timeline for the long-overdue burial of Internet Explorer
• GeForce Now, a cloud gaming service, now works on Chromebooks
• A shit ton of Chrome extensions have been exposed for injecting ads in Google search results
• Google is rolling out a bunch of new Android features – check them out here

Deep Ballu