Google Chrome gets a speed boost for Windows 11 (and Windows 10)

Google has tweaked its popular Chrome browser, making it perform faster in both Windows 11 and Windows 10.

While Google Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world by quite a margin, it’s also notorious for hogging system resources, especially memory, which can result in it running poorly.

Google is understandably keen to address these issues, and as Windows Latest reports, Google has been working on a project known as Native Window Occlusion, which aims to reduce the strain tabs you’re not looking at put on your PC. If a window or tab isn’t visible – for example if the window is minimized, or there’s another window open in front of it – the tabs in the window will be put into a state that takes up a minimum of system memory and resources, freeing up your PC to concentrate on the tabs that are visible.

Google has been working on this project for three years, and it’s now rolling it out to Windows 10 and Windows 11 users.

Promising results

According to Google’s blog post on the improvements, Chrome is now 25.8% faster on startup, and GPU memory usage has dropped by 3.1%. This has led to 20.4% fewer renderer frames and rendered crashes have also been reduced, this time by 4.5%.

By focusing resources on foreground windows, there’s now a 3% improvement in first input delay. Basically, Chrome now behaves faster and feels more responsive, especially when you first open it up on your PC.

The results are certainly promising, and hopefully Chrome users on Windows 11 or Windows 10 will see the benefits soon.


Calm female executive meditating in front of a laptop

(Image credit: fizkes / Shutterstock)

Analysis: Getting better

These improvements from Google are very welcome. Many of us use Chrome every day, but it’s increasingly becoming an app we begrudgingly use due to the fact that it hogs so many resources, slowing down even the most powerful of PCs.

By continuing to improve Chrome’s performance, Google could make this a browser people love to use once more. Microsoft has also been working on improving Chromium-based browsers, including Chrome, to help speed up its own Chromium-based Edge web browser.

With both Microsoft and Google working on improvements, Chrome may no longer be the notorious RAM eater it used to be.

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Microsoft vs Google browser fight gets ugly with Edge pop-up Chrome diss

Microsoft has fired more flak at the Chrome browser, trying to persuade those who are attempting to download Google’s web browser that Edge is a superior piece of software.

As Neowin spotted, in the scenario that you are using Microsoft Edge, and you head over to download Google Chrome, Edge will serve a pop-up promoting itself – there are actually several messages which have been spotted on both Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems.

One of them insists: “Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft.”

And another pop-up really goes for the throat, stating: “That browser is so 2008! Do you know what’s new? Microsoft Edge.”

Do you know what isn’t new? Microsoft badgering users who are already using one of its products (Windows) to use its other products like Edge and OneDrive – and this practice was getting old some time ago.


Analysis: The heavy hand of Microsoft

As we’ve said before, this kind of promotional activity inevitably puts us in mind of the nag-fest days when Windows 10 was first launched, and Microsoft set about trying to convince Windows 7 and 8 users to take the free upgrade. It felt unnecessarily heavy-handed back then, and it still does now.

I suppose one thing we can be thankful for – sort of – is at least the pop-ups are gaining something of a sense of humor. Calling Chrome ‘so 2008’ did elicit a chuckle from us, but we guess you could argue this perhaps serves to remind people that Google has been working to refine and hone its browser for 13 years now. And just because something is ‘new’ does not equate to it being good (that said, we do think Edge is a good browser, in fairness).

As for: “Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft.” Well, it does indeed use Chromium – along with a number of other browsers – but as to the ‘trust’ of Microsoft, that’s a pretty bizarre angle to throw in. What is Microsoft trying to suggest? That Google is anything less than unimpeachable in the browser world? Tsk, tsk, whatever next…

To be honest, we are wondering what on earth Microsoft will do to promote Edge next, as the gloves are seemingly coming off. But the real shame here is that Edge promotes itself quite well on its own merits, and any perception of verging towards desperation to drive adoption will surely backfire.

Via Windows Central

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