Also: 3 free Chrome extensions to help you be more productive in 2023 In an attempt to make the browser a bit less of a drain on the batteries of portable devices, Google has rolled out a new feature called Energy Saver mode.
How to enable Energy Saver mode on Google Chrome
It’s currently an experimental feature that’s not enabled by default, so you’ll need to enable it.
Requirements
First, you need to be running version 108 or higher of Google Chrome on Windows, Mac, Linux, or Chromebooks. This version is rolling out to users as of Tuesday, Nov. 29. Also: The best Cyber Monday Chromebook deals still available chrome://settings/help If you are not yet running version 108 or higher, you need to update. I’ve been using this feature in the beta version of Google Chrome for a month now and haven’t suffered any ill effects, but if you are at all worried about bugs or crashes and such, this feature isn’t for you. chrome://flags/ Note what it says on that page! If you do want to try out this feature, type the word “Battery” in the search box and look for the flag called “Enable the battery saver mode feature in the settings” in the list. Alternatively, you can type chrome://flags/#battery-saver-mode-available into the address bar and press Enter to go there directly. Find the flag, change the drop-down menu for the flag to Enabled, and then click Restart to apply the changes. Google offers these “tips” for the feature: Make sure Energy Saver is toggled on and you’ll see your two options:
Turn on only when my battery is at 20% or lowerTurn on when my computer is unplugged
Pretty self-explanatory, really. And that’s all there is to it. As I said earlier, I’ve had this setting enabled on both Windows and Mac systems for the past month, and not noticed any ill effects. It’s hard to quantify how much battery life I gained, but there are days when I’m a very heavy Chrome user, and I did find that battery life was holding out a lot better than usual (I had the “Turn on when my computer is unplugged” setting enabled). If you want to roll this setting back, head back to the “Enable the battery saver mode feature in the settings” flag and change the drop-down menu for the flag to Disabled.
