Google Improves Chrome’s Memory By Evaluating Hidden Windows

While Google Chrome is a fantastic browser, one of the criticisms it has faced multiple times throughout the year is how much of a memory/resource hog it is. This means that as feature-rich as it might be and how well it might render and load websites, for some users, it might be too resource-intensive to be used as a daily driver.

However, in a recent blog post, Google has detailed some of the changes that they have made that will make it more memory efficient. One of those changes comes in the form of hidden windows, which means that by being able to figure out and determine hidden tabs and windows. By taking this into account, Chrome can then allocate a computer’s resources accordingly.

For example, if you have tabs that you’re not using, obviously it makes sense that Chrome not allocate resources to it. According to Google, based on these changes they’ve made, they found that there is an 8.5% to 25.8% in terms of faster startup, 3.1% reduction in GPU memory usage, and 20.4% few renderer frames drawn overall.

These changes have actually been made and rolled out to Chrome Windows users back in 2020, so you should already see them. For those with higher-end rigs, maybe this will be less obvious, but for those with older computers with less amounts of RAM or are using integrated GPUs, then perhaps it might be time to revisit Chrome as your primary browser again.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Computers
Tags: Chrome, Google