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Chrome 89 will cool your fingers and give your laptop a breather

Google has announced the Chrome 89 web browser has been optimised to ensure it will keep your Mac cooler and offer significant memory savings on Windows PC.

Those using low-powered laptop computers will be used to the warm fingers caused by the machine running a little hot, especially when having too many web tabs open at the same time. Mac users for example are often warned that just closing their browser will help the laptop run cooler.

Google says its tab throttling tech, which reduces the memory use in dormant tabs, has had a huge impact on this front.

In a post on the Chromium blog, Google says: “With more data from the field on tab throttling, we’re seeing up to 65% improvement on Apple Energy Impact score for tabs in the background, keeping your Mac cooler and those fans quiet.”

Memory savings in Chrome 89 on Mac are as high as 8%, but these are more apparent on Windows machines. Google says memory savings are up to 22% in the browser process.

Google adds: “In this release, we’ve dug deep into the core of Chrome, upgrading how we allocate and discard memory, and even how we build, package, and run Chrome, to make today’s Chrome even faster and more memory efficient.”

Mac and Windows users the only ones receiving a Chrome 89 boost. The Android version of the browser now starts up 13% faster than its predecessor. Google calls the new tech “Freeze-Dried Tabs.”

It explains: “Chrome now saves a lightweight version of your tabs that are similar in size to a screenshot, but support scrolling, zooming, and tapping on links. We use these Freeze-Dried Tabs at startup while the actual tab loads in the background, getting you to your pages faster.”

Earlier this week, Google also revealed an update to the Chrome OS operating system, celebrating 10 years of Chromebooks. Rolling out now, the update introduces a brand new Phone Hub, integration with Nearby Share and expansions of features like Desks and Screen Capture.

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