Chrome 53 Battery Performance To Rival Competitors, Windows 10 Still Pimps Edge Via Popups
Earlier this week, Google began pushing Chrome 52 to Android users with the promise that the browser “now feels smoother, loads faster, and consumes less battery.” Google representatives also told The Verge that huge gains have been made on the battery consumption front (on the Windows 10 platform) in the past year, and “by Chrome 53, we feel confident that we'll be at parity with other browsers in terms of power consumption for the majority of video playback on the internet."
If true, that would take some of the wind out of Microsoft’s sails when it comes to attacking Chrome and further hamper the Redmond, Washington-based company’s efforts to boost Edge market share. According to StatCounter, Chrome has a commanding lead of the global browser market with nearly a 58 percent share. Firefox is a distant second with just over a 14 percent share, and Edge is down in fifth place with just 2.53 percent of the browser market.
Edge has been available with Windows 10 for over a year now, and is still in the low single-digits, which explains why some Chrome users are beginning to see popups like this more frequently:
Interesting message I received on Windows 10. on Edge, Chrome, battery life (not AE). pic.twitter.com/MzJr7qRvfT
— Patrick Moorhead (@PatrickMoorhead) August 2, 2016
If you recall, Microsoft first started hitting Chrome users with these popups in July, which we reported on. But now that these messages are becoming more widespread, Microsoft is finally explaining the reasoning behind them.
"These Windows Tips notifications were created to provide people with quick, easy information that can help them enhance their Windows 10 experience, including information that can help users extend battery life," a Microsoft spokesman said in a statement to The Verge. "That said, with Windows 10 you can easily choose the default browser and search engine of your choice."
However, if Google can finally get its power and memory consumption in check with Chrome 53, these prompts may too go away, just like the much-loathed Get Windows 10 nag screens.
