Google uses Surface Books to show off Chrome battery improvements

By John Callaham
last updated

Google has posted a new video showing how much it has improved battery life while using Chrome on Windows. It demonstrated those changes in a video that featured the web browser on Microsoft's Surface Book notebooks.

The video test was based on running a Vimeo video on Chrome 46, which was released in 2015, and the same video running on Chrome 53, which was released last week. The Surface Book with Chrome 46 ran out of battery power after 8 hours and 27 minutes, while the same notebook running Chrome 53 shut down in 10 hours and 39 minutes, or over 2 hours later.

While not mentioned in either the video or blog post, Chrome 53 also has new Material Design user interface for the first time. Tabs, windows and icons now have a flatter look to them in the latest Chrome release.

John Callaham
John Callaham
95 Comments
  • No third laptop with Edge running on it I see ;) (It demonstrated those chances > changes?)
  • Lol, I think so. What's the point of comparing same browsers, different versions? Or they just want to test the Surface Book's battery life? Edit: in a year, they have just improved 2 hours of battery life. Compare it with Opera or even newly bred Edge browser.
  • Their not going to add something that trumps the point they trying to make. 
  • Chrome is dead for me.... Edge is Amazing in AU.  
  • Mani, my dear Australian brother, Chrome is dead for me too. It's way to slow. And Microsoft Edge is so fast!
  • But running the video with Edge would get even more battery life.
  • by AU you meant one astronomical unit I.e dist bw earth and sun??
  • Nope, Anniversary Update
  • yeah, i knew, it was a joke.... :)
  • Looks like some can't understand a joke :/
  • Looks like someone can't figure out bad and good joke.
  • People should really stop calling it AU. Redstone is way better.    
  • Edge still has horrible formatting with copy and paste. I still have to use IE for copy and paste.
  • Now we wait for Microsoft to post their own video, one with the latest Chrome build and one with the latest Edge build, both watching the same video. Anyone here have two identical Surface Books to try this out?
  • Don't need two identical surface books...
    Just run the test, recharge the battery, then run it again :) Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • LOL, true... I was still in side-by-side demo video thinking and tacked the question on at the end without thinking. So... anyone have a Surface Book to try this out?
  • Yeah just stitch the videos side by side.
  • When you doctor videos like that, people will always call you out for cheating, even if you didn't.
  • Thinking of trying this on my Surface Pro 4
  • An extra 2 hours with a newer version of Chrome? It must have been really poor in the first place.
  • That's like saying older phoens were bad because they weren't as efficient with software. Sometimes, new tech improvements and coding conventions just make things that much better.
  • I didn't know what it was, but my SP3 battery drained fast until I started using Edge as my primary browser. Chrome was the culprit and real ****** memory leaks too.
  • Funny. My SP3 doesn't do that nor suffer from battery drains caused by Chrome. And Chrome is the only browser I use. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • So you wouldn't know how it behaved with a better browser.
  • Yeah, my girlfriend was using Chrome until I showed her. Now she is on an Edge+Opera setup and her computer lasts longer and she is generally happier while browsing.
  • lol, touche Google
  • If nothing else, it shows off how good the battery life of the Surface Book is, even when running Chrome...    
  • Edge is pretty much the default on my SB, but I am persuaded to give Chrome a try as my alternative browser option.
  • I have it as an alternative only for work purposes (we have a inhouse extension that I pretty much can't live without) I hate the browser and how buggy and resource hungry it is. I've been using Edge exclusively other than that and it's been awesome.
  • And I use chrome when I need it's multi profile feature, otherwise it is always edge for me.
  • Your only alternative should be Opera, not Chrome.
  • Still prefer Vivaldi to Opera, if you're a power user then it's the spirtual sucessor to Opera 12.
  • Opera has too much stuff jammed into it. Google is taking things out while Opera is back to throwing the kitchen sink into their browser. I only need a browser to browse website. I don't red RSS Reader, News Reader (not the same in opera) non disablable ugly start screen etc. VPN etc. just give me a browser that browses. All this extra stuff just increases memory usage and attack surface. Does Chrome require a Google Account to use Addons from its store? It's one of the reasons I don't use Edge. Performance is another (don't care about batter it's always plugged in anyways). Edge is beyond horrible on AMD Notebooks u less they're under 18 months old. Have to use I.E. With TPLs to browser with good performance.
  • Do yourself a favor and try opera instead.
  • I think Google need a really small cupcake for this!!!!
  • They need a cookie..
  • Badun tssss Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • 53 versions and Chrome still sucks! Posted via the Windows Central App for Android.. But waiting for the HP Elite so I can get rid of this junkie Galaxy S5...
  • By all means tell me which browser you used in 2008. Better be Firefox or Opera, if it's Internet Explorer, I'll laugh really loud.  
  • I'm an extension developer and 53 removed the ability to use local packed extensions. :/ This is some crap. I get it from a security standpoint, but I should be able to explicitely override. I can use unpacked, but for beta testers it's SO much easier to send them a packed extension. Such a weird thing to remove. 
  • Are you sure that's the reason and it's due to a compatibility issue?
    Asking as I'm on the beta channel for Chrome and one of my non-store extensions stopped working. I was able to reinstall it without a problem so assume it was a compatibility issue, especially as the extension isn't supported any more and hasn't been updated in over 2 years.
  • Edge could use some extensions, I think Microsoft have a porting app. Give it some thought :D
  • I thought it was supposed to run Chrome extensions unaltered.
  • Chrome? What's that? ;)
  • Next they will show resource usage improvements? That could be interesting.
  • Glad to know Edge has improved since launch. I use firefox mainly and then edge secondary. Chrome, not even installed. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Same here Microsoft I use edge for account related (Gmail or live. Com etc) and Firefox for all other things Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Huh? Vimeo? LOL Did they forgot they own YouTube? Or is playing Vimeo videos more power efficient as well?
  • One of my first thoughts when I seen that!
  • No big issue that google demonstrated it on a surface book against a third party laptop.The point was to prove that newer chrome on windows has a better battery life than older chrome.So what better than using the laptop from the makers of windows itself.That's all I can see.No big deal about using a surface book.
  • Free advertisements for Microsoft Surface book....That's great. Might make for a good hardware advertising commercial : )
  • there's of course no big issue for others but all mind ****** retarded MS fanboys.
  • It should be. 20% of the energy you have used previously have been wasted. That is unacceptable. Google fanboys should run out of excuses after all the monopolistic BS they defend.
  • Showing a little of superiority because Microsoft used its browser to compare both and takes advantage over it.
  • wheres the superiority?  its chrome against chrome, a great comparision for themselves.
  • can we have google apps on the windows mobile phone now then? Please google?
  • Please no... Let Windows mobile be a Google safe haven.
  • Any reason google are using vimeo and not you tube that they own?
  • Perhaps to remove any doubts that they are rigging the test. Maybe running a lower bitrate on one laptop vs the other.
  • F**king Google blocked client for hangouts in windows phone. Also gmail is not working properly in outlook mobile.
    I got to use gmail bcz of work purpose.
  • well then stop using ****** windows phone and get an android or ios. problem solved.
  • That's not the solution... Dump all google stuff is a better solution. Really who would trust Google with business material. The three times my company worked with Google docs, all three times we got viruses. Google anything including chrome is no longer allowed in my office. Besides Google data mines tour docs and pictures for their own nefarious needs, why else is it free? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android.. But waiting for the HP Elite so I can get rid of this junkie Galaxy S5...
  • I work in a small company where reforms and changes is foreign concept for us haha.... we use Hangouts for Communication and one of our official mail account uses Gmail services. I have to say Gmail is worst webmail. It irrirates us while trying to configure it on our Outlooks.
  • Some of the largest businesses in the country here do. These enterprise services are audited and have to comply with a metric ton of regulations. There is nothing to distrust about Google Apps for Business. Thinking about getting a Chromebook myself, to replace my "last man standing" Windows Notebook, honestly. Just need to fine one with 1080p, 64GB SSD and 4GB Ram at a nice price. They're actually going to have a usable "UWP" with Android apps on ChromeOS.
  • Google Apps is a toy compared with MS Office. It has some current advantages in terms of real-time sharing vs Word, but MS is fast adding those capabilities to Office, and has already caught up with Excel. Other than that, Google's weak attempt is missing dozens of important features that I (and many other users) use regularly. I realize most users are not power users, but compatibility also suffers with the main Office file format. Interacting with those few business who use Google Docs instead of Office is a general pain. I understand why some students use it, but when I hear about a real business using Google Docs, that's either a very, very rare use case they were trying to solve, or an IT guy with a personal agenda.
  • Why?
  • They used Surface to lure MS fan boys into using Chrome on Microsoft's hardware products. I wonder how much Edge market share they lost after that video was released.
    It's okay though, because Surface Phone will fix this by automatically uninstalling Chrome and installing Edge on any Surface device that shared the same Microsoft account.
  • I highly doubt they were trying to lure die hard Microsoft fanboys. However they just shut them up with evidence that Chrome not only isn't a resource hungry browser as they love to claim, it also doesn't eat up their battery and in one year made more progress becoming more efficient than Edge.
  • Can you enlighten everyone, how long has chrome been around?
  • hmmm http://bfy.tw/7Zbh
  • So far it's at version 53, and it's still not right. Long term beta it seems. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android.. But waiting for the HP Elite so I can get rid of this junkie Galaxy S5...
  • It is more efficient than Edge you claim? Still draws more power and more resources. Where is the efficiency and why don't they dare show it in a side by side video? ☺ Monopolistic cowards.
  • I would love to use edge like I have been every day for the last year, but for some reason ever since the anniversary update it hates my surface pro 4 with a passion. Creating websites constantly, hating any kind of video. But not my desktop. So chrome is looking interesting again, especially if they finally rolled out the material design overhaul that's been long overdue.
    Although I feel this is a surface issue and not a browser issue. Time to test I guess. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • Is chrome universal?
  • Yes. Available on Windows 7, 8 and 10, iOS and Android.
  • But it's not a Universal Windows App. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android.. But waiting for the HP Elite so I can get rid of this junkie Galaxy S5...
  • So it is universal, just not Universal. :-Þ
  • No, that it's not. Because it'd be a complete waste of money.
    It's available on Windows in the way most Windows users use Windows programs: x86 version. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • That's an advantage. Edge performs like ass on anything that isn't Intel or very recent AMD laptop processors. Chrome has always performed better. If the battery life is on par with Edge, it won't even be a comparison to me, pending some ecosystem questions. Two choices: 1. Upgrade computer that otherwise works flawlessly. 2. Use a browser that doesn't perform like the PC is a decade old. I err towards 2, for plainly obvious reasons.
  • No, it is an old program.
  • Can they play 1080/4k video?
  • No.
  • Lol
  • I hope by gaining the extra battery life they have not slowed down chrome
  • Since AdBlock extension in Edge I hadn't use chrome anymore, by the way forgot to uninstall it... Doing right now, thanks for the article.
  • not in rest of my life use chrome as my main browser ever.
    ​and BTW, just rooted my new android backup phone, and remove all google apps including chrome and replace with alternatives from MS and Firefox and HERE, feel good to free from AlphaDom
  • I use Chrome as my main browser on my MacBook Pro and edge on my surface.
  • Plot twist, the older version have 42 extensions installed while the newest doesn't have any.
  • Where to download chrome 53? Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • I used to be anti-chrome with a burning passion, Firefox was my main choice UNTIL I started managing social networking for a small company, Firefox shows it's true colors... Opening and closing "heavy" sites with a lot YouTube, sound cloud, fancy designs Firefox slows to crawl and eats so much ram it become impossible to use.. Chrome is just better managing resources. I would switch to Edge but extension support is to green right now, maybe in a future.
  • Now google just one demand- chrome for windows phone.please........
  • How ironic
  • The doodling child (Google), when do you ever learn?
  • Because MacBook is dead. Surface Book is a product people who have money buy. Not Apple anymore. The Macbook looks like a toy next to the sleek design of Surface.
  • If Microsoft Edge is 70% better in battery use than Chrome, and Google just down 20% it battery use... Theorical Microsoft Edge still is better by 50% of battery use...