MacBook Paint Equivalent: How Chrome's Optimizations Match Safari's Battery Life

The quest for improved battery life on laptops is a constant one, and Google has taken significant strides in achieving this goal through recent optimizations made to Chrome for Mac. By leveraging the power of tweaking timers, fine-tuning iframes, eliminating unnecessary redraws, and other advancements, Chrome now matches the impressive battery life achieved by Safari.

One key area where Chrome's optimization efforts have paid off is in its handling of JavaScript timers. These timers can consume a significant portion of a Web page's power consumption, resulting in reduced energy usage without impacting long-term memory utilization. By tweaking these timers, Chrome has been able to reduce short-term memory usage and subsequently conserve battery life.

Another area where Chrome has made notable improvements is in the realm of iframes. The browser has fine-tuned its garbage collection and memory compression heuristics for recently created iframes, as well as implemented similar optimizations for changes to the Chrome UI. This means that Chrome can now detect and bypass unnecessary style, layout, paint, raster, and GPU steps, further reducing power consumption.

The elimination of unnecessary redraws is another significant optimization made by Google. By analyzing real-world sites with a bot and identifying Document Object Model (DOM) change patterns that don't affect pixels on the screen, Chrome has been able to optimize its rendering processes and reduce battery drain. This means that users can now enjoy improved performance gains on older models, making it an attractive option for those looking to get the most out of their devices.

Google's testing, conducted on a MacBook Pro (13', M2, 2022 with 8 GB RAM running macOS Ventura 13.2.1) and Chrome 1.100 in February 2023, demonstrated impressive results. The browser was able to achieve up to 17 hours of wireless web browsing and 18 hours of YouTube video playback – a feat that rivals Apple's touted battery life for its own devices.

In conclusion, Google's recent optimizations to Chrome for Mac have successfully matched the battery life achieved by Safari. By leveraging the power of tweaked timers, fine-tuned iframes, eliminated redraws, and other advancements, Chrome has become a strong contender in the quest for improved battery life on laptops.

Macbook paint equivalent