Microsoft ran a number of tests to show how Google Chrome kills your battery life. The tests were done to measure the power consumption by browsers and Chrome raised a concern.
Microsoft’s first test was carried out in a lab-controlled environment measuring typical browsing behavior on renown sites, while the second experiment showed how long streaming HD video lasts. Surprisingly, Chrome lasts just four hours and 19 minutes on the streaming video test, compared to seven hours and 22 minutes for Microsoft’s Edge browser.
In addition, the tests claim that Chrome, Opera, and Firefox use more battery power than Edge during an automated cycle of opening sites, scrolling articles, watching videos, and opening new tabs. The company will also release results from millions of Windows 10 machines that show Microsoft Edge and Firefox are both more power efficient than Google’s Chrome browser.
Ideally, Microsoft is trying to get more users on Edge which is going to be a little hard because Edge lacks some features that you’d find in Chrome and Firefox like browser extensions. However, Microsoft is promising more power-saving enhancements with the Anniversary Update to Edge, less memory consumption, and controls on background activity and Flash ads.
Senior Google Chrome engineer Peter Kasting outlined some adjustments meant to make Chrome better, including changing how Chrome renders pages to prioritize foreground tabs over background tabs, and reducing the CPU strain when loading pages such as Google search results. “The Chrome team has no intention of sitting idly by when our users are suffering. You should expect us to continually improve in this area.” Peter said.
Earlier this month, Google Chrome was updated with a power-saving feature: pausing Flash content where it’s not deemed central to the website being browsed. “When you’re on a webpage that runs Flash, we’ll intelligently pause content (like Flash animations) that aren’t central to the webpage, while keeping central content (like a video) playing without interruption. If we accidentally pause something you were interested in, you can just click it to resume playback. This update significantly reduces power consumption, allowing you to surf the web longer before having to hunt for a power outlet.” Google wrote.
“This feature will be enabled by default on Chrome’s latest desktop Beta channel release starting today, and will be rolling out soon to everyone else on Chrome desktop. If you need to manually enable it, just head to Chrome’s content settings and select ‘Detect and run important plugin content’.” Google added.
However, according to Microsoft Google has been making trivial fixes which are not helpful in the long run.