Google has started rolling out new Memory Saver and Energy Saver modes for Chrome on Mac, Windows, Linux, and ChromeOS (via 9to5Google).
Both features were originally announced in December and are now rolling out to the public at large in the Chrome 110 stable channel release for macOS and other Operating Systems.
Chrome’s Memory Saver feature “frees up memory from inactive tabs” to deliver a smoother browser experience and improve performance. Inactive tabs are removed from RAM but remain in the tab strip, with Chrome reloading them when the user switches to one of them.
According to Google, the Memory Saver feature can cut down Chrome’s memory usage by up to 30%. It’s an excellent addition to Chrome, which has gained somewhat of a reputation for being a memory hog.
If you want certain tabs to always remain in memory, you can add these websites to Chrome’s Always keep these sites active list.
Energy Saver mode, on the other hand, is designed to reduce Chrome’s battery consumption and maximize battery life on laptops. When enabled, Energy Saver mode limits Chrome’s background activity, disables smooth scrolling, turns off website animations, and reduces video frame rates as soon as your device’s battery level reaches 20%.
Both features are enabled by default upon release, and they can be toggled on/off and adjusted by going to Settings > Performance. If you don’t have either of the features yet, though, you can type the following flags into Chrome’s Omnibox (address bar) and set the respective toggle to Enabled:
chrome://flags/#battery-saver-mode-available
chrome://flags/#high-efficiency-mode-available
Back in December, Google also announced Passkey support for Chrome on both desktop and mobile platforms.
