Most would agree that Google Chrome is one of the most-used Web browsers in the world. However, many users of the app find it to be a burden to their mobile device's battery life. Listening to the demands of its fan base, Google decided to make a few changes to the browser via an upcoming update.
According to the official Google blog, one of the major changes that Google will implement when it updates Chrome is to gain control over the Flash content of websites. Flash content makes websites interactive by displaying content such as videos and Flash animations. However, most of today's websites also use Flash to display non-related content such as pop-up ads. For most mobile users, browsing websites with a huge amount of Flash content takes a huge toll on their devices' battery life.
In the next update, Google will integrate Chrome with an automatic control feature that, by design, will pause Flash content the system detects to be non-essential to the webpage. For example, when a user visits a site that has embedded ads on the sides together with embedded video content on the site body, Chrome will automatically pause the Flash ads while keeping the video in the article or post to continuously buffer.
According to Tommy Li, a software engineer at Google, the company will partner with Adobe in implementing the said update. He stated that although the new update will have Chrome automatically pause content, the user still has control over Flash content.
Li wrote, "If we accidentally pause something you were interested in, you can just click it to resume playback. This update significantly reduces power consumption, allowing you to surf the web longer before having to hunt for a power outlet."
The update is already available by default on Chrome's latest Beta channel, and will roll out to other Chrome versions soon.
