Google uses Surface Books to show off Chrome battery improvements

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