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As a tech journalist, I’ve been guilty of calling people out for using the all-browser swear word: Internet Explorer. I sat at my office desk, a white as a black in the Android campaign drinking and an avid browlifter for anyone who turned away from the browser of the gods: Google Chrome. I must admit that I had little reason to defend him, other than the fact that my life revolved around his artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant, the Google Assistant, and the general power of Alphabet Inc, which was worth $ 1 trillion to early this year. Not to mention the fact that founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin possibly changed the world. So, with a heartbreaking gasp, I came across this article from The Wall Street Journal, demanding that I abandon the dream browser and use Safari (used by 12.64% of South Africans) or even worse, Edge Legacy (used by 1.32% of South Africans). ), Successor of Internet Explorer. But after reading it and Joanna Stern’s hands-on approach, I can’t help but agree. – Nadim Nyker
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Quit Chrome. Safari and Edge are simply better browsers for you and your computer.
By Joanna Stern – The Wall Street Journal
It’s over, Chrome. ABOVE.
I’d say I’ll remember the good old days, its speed, its excellent handling of Gmail, but the buildup of RAM, battery drain, and disregard for privacy make it easy not to look back.
This is the year, people. It’s the year I challenge you to pack up your bookmarks and say goodbye to Google’s browser, and pick one that cares more about performance and personal data.
“How do I need other change in my life right now! “I hear you thinking. However, I also hear the sound of his laptop fan whirring, not to mention his complaints when he gets up to find his laptop charger because his battery is depleted by too many Chrome tabs.
Fortunately, while Chrome has gobbled up 69% of the desktop and portable browser market share, according to NetMarketShare, its competitors, all with single-digit percentages, have focused on kicking Chrome’s square in the market. blue Point.
Microsoftis The new Edge browser, which will be rolled out to Windows 10 machines this summer and is now available for download on a Mac, is based on Chromium, the same underlying technology as Chrome, but uses less RAM and battery than your Windows computer. A standalone Mozilla Firefox, the Bernie Sanders of browsers, now puts privacy front and center.
Meanwhile, Appleis The built-in Safari browser has the best combination of privacy, performance, and battery to offer on Mac, and it’s only getting better this fall with MacOS Big Sur.
So what do I suggest after weeks of testing? Get serious with one of these other options, or if you have to put up with it, fix your Chrome problems by adjusting a few settings. Google promises big performance improvements in a few months.
If you have Windows …
You could write a thesis on browser testing and all its factors: speed, compatibility, mobile sync, privacy, blah blah blah. I put system performance at the top of my list due to the Chrome frustrations I experienced during crash, when my laptop effectively turned my entire office.
On Windows, Microsoft’s Edge is a no-brainer. I don’t like how Microsoft is pushing the browser on its users, but frankly the company hasn’t had a great browser since 1996.
In all my tests, the new Edge used about 5% less RAM and processing than Chrome and Firefox. It might not sound like much, but on a Dell XPS 13, it resulted in an extra hour of battery life, and I got it in both my actual use and a YouTube HD video streaming test.
Now, while the new Edge is better than Chrome, it’s not as good as its own predecessor when it comes to battery life. No, not Internet Explorer; I’m talking about the version of Edge before Microsoft adopted the Chromium web technology. My tests showed that the mandatory update costs about an hour of battery life. Microsoft says that with video streaming services like Netflix, you’d actually get more battery life with the new Edge and the team is working on new optimizations.
But I’ll accept that loss, because the new Edge is just better. With Chromium, pages load very fast and you don’t have as many web compatibility issues. Google apps, including Gmail and Docs, worked without a hitch. It also means access to the same extensions as Chrome, those little web apps that live in your browser.
I’m also a huge fan of Edge Collections – you can group all the links for a particular project. All my links related to this column? In a collection. Links to the sandals I’ve been buying? In a collection.
Then there are the built-in privacy controls. Microsoft provides three levels of protection. Intermediate “balanced” mode blocks trackers on sites you haven’t visited before and helps minimize ads that follow you; turns on automatically. The “strict” mode blocks most trackers on all sites. Firefox has a similar default tracking built in. In Chrome, you need to disable cookie tracking in settings and install a third-party privacy extension for deeper controls. Google is working on some longer-term Chrome privacy plans.
If you have a Mac …
Unsurprisingly, on Mac, it was also the built-in browser that worked the best. The companies that create operating systems can do more to optimize their own browsers. Both Microsoft and Apple said they are working hard on how to minimize the processor and memory demands of idle tabs.
Safari used 5-10% less RAM than Chrome, Firefox, and Edge in my tests. Compared to Chrome, Safari kept the 13-inch MacBook Pro running an additional 1-2 hours on a charge. Also, the laptop was much cooler and quieter, with the exception of video calls in the browser. (More on that below).
None of this is new. Safari has long been as smooth as a duster on a Mac. The issues have always been related to features and compatibility.
While I would say that 98% of the websites I use work fine on Safari, others, like the payment system at my local Cuban restaurant and a podcast recording web application that I have used, do not. Fortunately, I was able to order my Cuban and bananas on Edge, even on my Mac. Yes, Microsoft’s browser is great on Apple machines too. Amazed. But the podcast web app, like other sites, just won’t run unless it identifies a Chrome browser.
Then there’s Safari’s lagged extension support. Good news: In the next version of Safari coming this fall in MacOS Big Sur, Apple made it easy for developers to migrate Chrome extensions. Also, the updated browser, which I’ve been testing in beta on a MacBook Pro, is faster and has those little tab icons, also known as favicons, turned on by default.
Like Firefox and Edge, Safari also has many default privacy features, including blocking trackers. The next version includes a toolbar that allows you to view blocked trackers on the site you are visiting, and a new weekly privacy report shows all blocked trackers, even on your iPhone and iPad.
That multi-device compatibility is another important factor when choosing a browser these days. If you are interested in Apple devices, Safari should be your choice, with a different browser to back up for web compatibility issues. Microsoft even made Edge for iOS, so if you have a mix of Apple, Android, and Windows devices, give it a go. Firefox is a good option too, especially for those concerned about privacy, but it’s not my best option because it didn’t do well enough in my performance and battery life tests.
If you stick with Chrome …
Maybe you’re stuck with Chrome, either because of your crucial work web apps or because you like it and think the browser (and Google) can do better.
“I see performance in Chrome as a journey, not a destination,” said Max Christoff, Chrome browser engineering director. “This is an ongoing investment in improvements to speed, performance and battery life.” When I shared my test results, he said that three big improvements were expected in the coming months.
Chrome will be updated soon to limit the power that resource-heavy ads can consume. A new optimization will allow the most performance-critical parts of the software to run even faster. And, perhaps most importantly, Chrome will improve “tab throttling” by better prioritizing active tabs and limiting the loss of resources from background tabs. Christoff said this will have a “dramatic impact on battery and performance.” He says he is especially encouraged by the first tests on Mac laptops.
Until those fixes arrive, follow these tips to prevent Chrome from sucking up so many resources from your computer:
Kill the RAM Eaters. Each open application on your computer performs a series of tasks in your system’s RAM. Each Chrome tab and extension also exists as a separate RAM process, basically a different app, so close the ones you don’t use. Chrome allows you to see the resources of each tab and close the problematic ones in its Task Manager. (Click the three vertical dots to the right of the Chrome toolbar, then select More Tools> Task Manager.)
Dump unused extensions. In Task Manager you can also see which extensions are running all the time and consuming RAM. Disable the extensions you don’t use by going to Settings> Extensions.
Limit browser-based video chats. The tab that will take up the most RAM and processing power? The one who handles video calls. No matter what browser or computer I used, Google Meet took a half gigabyte of RAM for a single caller. Zoom’s dedicated app took just a third of that. During a call with multiple callers, Google Meet used up to 1.5GB and made my MacBook fan louder than a SpaceX Falcon launch.
Unlike Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime, Google Meet doesn’t have a dedicated Mac or Windows app, so it’s best to follow Google’s advice to optimize Meet performance.
Google, Microsoft, Mozilla and Apple are actively exploring ways to improve performance related to video calls. You know what it means! Another browser breakdown could be just around the corner.
For now though, it’s Safari (with Edge as a backup and persistent Chrome, in case of a bounce) on my MacBook Pro, now cooler, quieter, and more durable.
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Write to Joanna Stern in [email protected]
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