There’s no question that Google Chrome is one of the best web browsers you can get, but it’s long been a resource hog under OS X. By simply avoiding it on the new MacBook, your battery could last more than three hours longer in between charges.
While reviewing Apple’s latest ultraportable, The Verge carried out its usual tests to find out just how much battery life users could expect to get. This involves setting the display to 65% brightness and cycling through a series of websites until the battery dies.
Using Apple’s own Safari browser, the MacBook lasted for 13 hours and 18 minutes before it switched off. But when running the same test with Google Chrome, the MacBook gave up after just 9 hours and 45 minutes.
“Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is insane,” writes Vlad Savov. “It’s the same exact computer. The battery, the processor, the memory — nothing changes but the web browser and the MacBook’s endurance is suddenly scythed down by a whopping three and a half hours.”
That’s a pretty significant drop just because of a different web browser, and it perfectly demonstrates that while Chrome is an excellent browser, it’s not as efficient as it should be on a Mac. It’s not as speedy as Safari, either.
The Verge also ran a SunSpider benchmark test on a MacBook Pro, and found that while Chrome clocks in at 203ms, Safari was 30% faster with a time of 144ms.
Chrome has been my favorite browser for as long as I can remember — for a number of reasons — and at this point I can’t see myself switching back to Safari.
Not only is Chrome available on all the platforms I use, meaning I can access my favorites and open tabs no matter which device I’m using, but I find it’s better than Safari at other things — such as managing tabs. It also boasts better extensions.
But when I’m away from my desktop and using my MacBook Air — which has a more powerful processor than the new MacBook — Chrome has a noticeably greater impact on performance and memory usage than Safari does.
Perhaps the new MacBook will persuade Google to finally address Chrome’s niggles under OS X, but I wouldn’t count on it. If you’re adopting Apple’s new machine and you value battery life, then, it’s probably best to avoid it if you can.
Source: The Verge
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
37 responses to “Getting the new MacBook? Avoid Google Chrome for better battery life”
Did anyone try to contact the Chrome development team for this story? It would seem to make sense to try to get a comment from them for something this glaring.
Chrome has always been terrible at battery management especially on OS X. They know about this issue and it doesn’t look like they’re doing anything to solve it.
This is common sense for all experienced users. Chrome create separated process for each tab you open, and they do not hesitate to grab all the resource they can. This is why Chrome generally performed better in parallel downloading.
Don’t know if I’m missing a setting, but one of the main reasons I use Chrome over Safari is the ability to open all the bookmarks in a folder withh a right click, without overwriting the existing tab. Even opening history or bookmark manager should be in a new tab, as on Chrome.
You can do all of that in Safari.
Please tell me how? The trick here is to keep my current tab open and not overwrite it with what I open.
1. There’s an “Open in Tabs” under each bookmark folder.
2. Seriously, what’s so hard about opening a new tab? If Cmd+T is too difficult for you, that’s a more pressing issue than complaining about Safari not catering to your laziness.
Doesn’t work. When I have 3 tabs open, and open a new tab, then open all the bookmarks in a folder from that tab (say 6 of them), it overwrites my open tabs. Since I do research online this became very annoying and I reverted back to Chrome.
Or Cmd+N and you can get a whole new window. Or you could just continue being lazy and using Chrome. The smart people will be over here adapting and using Safari to get more stuff done without bogging down our Macs.
You call it lazy, I call it efficient not having to move between windows when doing comparisons. When you do it all day, it’s annoying. Is that not why tabs were introduced in the first place? It’s a simple setting Apple should add.
Luckily I’ve not encountered any machine resource issues thus far with Chrome.
Nope, still being lazy. Smart and efficient people adapt, not give up.
You must have a massive amount of RAM, then. Most people aren’t as fortunate.
Do what I do every day and you’ll also switch. I choose software based on what it can do for me, not by what I can do for it. Apple got it wrong by their own human guidelines that state the least offense option should always apply – in this case, to not overwrite. They’ve missed the very benefit of tabs, if I had to follow your method there is no need for tabs.
I have 1-2 dozen tabs open all the time in Safari. I couldn’t do that in Chrome without crashing my MBP. I do comparisons all the time and have no issues using tabs in Safari. Again, you’re just choosing laziness over adapting to make technology work for you. Safari doesn’t break any Apple guidelines and works perfectly 99% of the time. Stop trying to blame Apple for your unwillingness to adapt.
Let’s agree to disagree. Apple is not perfect, and this in one example where Google’s implementation of tabs is better than Apple’s. There are many other examples of Apple software not being perfect as well.
Nope, the only thing I’ll agree on is that you’re lazy. That’s the only thing obvious here. Safari works great for those of us that actually learn how to use it.
It’s not about lazy. It’s about something not working as well as it could. I am not lazy, in fact, most people are astounded at how much I get done (up to triple my colleagues work). I’m also not unadaptable – I’m one of the biggest fans of change. And because I keep an open mind, I always choose the tool that get things done best (without having to work around the software).
Yes it is. I doubt any of that’s actually true. If you can’t handle a simple change in routine with Safari (which still isn’t a flaw, just a different method), you couldn’t possibly justify doing anything that would require even a modicum of adaptation. Your sad attempt to justify your laziness is even more work than the Safari workaround you say is so difficult. If you keep an open mind, then I suggest you transfer some of this brain power to actually making Safari work for you instead of just giving up on it. Or continue being lazy; your call.
Topic 1 in Window 1, 3 tabs open. Topic 2 in Window 2, 3 tabs open. Window 1: Open folder with 6 tabs next to 3 open (same topic) without overwriting. Impossible with Safari. Possible with Chrome. Zero laziness. Maximum organisation.
Further proof that everything you said was a lie; not open minded at all. Keep trying; you’ll understand someday. Or continue being lazy.
Please refrain from jumping to conclusions or assuming what I do or don’t do. You solve my problem stated above (keeping topics together in windows, adding folders at a time to open tabs, etc) and I will adapt to that. So far, however, you have not solved my problem. You’ve given all sorts of workarounds that either requires a new window (splitting topics – remember, each topic has its own window, with sometimes 5 or 6 windows open) or suggested right click open tabs which overwrites existing ones. Tell me how to solve my problem (not having to open 6 tabs manually in the same window) and I will adapt. If not, I’ll stick to the software that can.
You really enjoy proving how lazy you are. Getting other people to solve your “issues” doesn’t make you any less lazy. Really, your qualifications continue making you look more dumb and closed-minded. You won’t adapt because you’ve already said so. But by all means, continue trying to justify your laziness so we can see how far your idiocy extends!
It amazes me that you are unable to address the issue at hand, so you rather attack the person.
Addressed it. You just choose to ignore it. Your problem, not mine.
Let’s try a different analogy. You get automatic and manual cars. Automatic makes more sense if you spend a lot of time in traffic, as having to depress the clutch all the time can become incredibly annoying. So people choose automatic, even if it may have worse fuel consumption. Sure they can adapt to manual, but why should they when a less annoying alternative is available, and they can afford the increased fuel cost? What you can’t do, is change gears on a manual without depressing the clutch. Impossible on one, possible on the other. So sure, you can call automatic drivers lazy, or not willing to adapt, but then it simply shows ignorance.
Nope, doesn’t work. The only one showing ignorance here is you for continuing to try to justify your laziness. And ignoring everything I’ve said. Your idiocy is on full display here. I await your next pathetic comment.
goodnight. no point talking to someone who takes on the person, not the point.
A fitting end to your pathetic comments. Bye douche!
I ditched Chrome on my PC and Macbook Air a couple of years ago as it is a RAM hog. My 4GB RAM on my HP Folio 1040 will max out on its RAM when about 5 tabs are open, yet if I use Nitro it will run at about 30 percentage points lower. Chrome has helpers as well as the tab cache and they swamp the system. Even when you close Chrome in Windows it still runs in the backgrounf (change in settings recommended). My iMac has 16GB and Chrome is currently using 10gb of this!!! Shame as it has many plus points.
Never had to use chrome after using Firefox. Chrome lags way too much and tab management sucks.
Chrome is a complete resource hog. It uses 4X as much RAM and 6X as much CPU on my Mac compared to Firefox with multiple tabs open. Firefox is far faster, more flexible, and stable than Chrome. The only thing missing from Firefox is Google spyware!
My own test a while ago, using Chrome and Safari side-by-side and opening identical websites in both is that Chrome inserts extra ads. Very often most of the bandwidth of a site is due to the ads. I’m sure that explains a lot of this.
This is so so true – I have watched my battery life drop before my eyes on chrome and watching a windowed youtube video throw the fan in a mental spin. And I’m running 16gB of memory with a i7 – so hardly taxing on the processor In safari not such issues
Safari always seems to work better for me personally on my iMac and mac pro anyway.
I did use chrome for a while and decided to revert back to safari due to its silky smoothness.
That new macbook is wayyyyy too thin. Jeez
It is a well known fact to anyone using Mac and Chrome that there is a problem. Not only my 6 years sad and full memory supercharged macbook is having troubles, but also my one year 27 inch iMac ran out of memory (16 gb installed ) with chrome running….
I use Safari for my regular browsing; I keep one copy of Chrome open for development. But when I’m on battery on my MBP, I may switch that over to FF. Hadn’t realized just how bad Chrome was in that respect.
This is exactly why I switched from Chrome months ago. That and the ridiculous amount of lag.