Microsoft Edge was a big step forward for Microsoft compared to where they were with Internet Explorer. While Internet Explorer was considered slow and impractical, Microsoft Edge was in a similar place to browsers like Google Chrome in terms of functionality back then. More recently, Edge has switched from its own engine to the tried and tested Chromium engine, which powers Chrome and a handful of other browsers, and usage numbers have risen since then, now being the second most used desktop browser, right behind Chrome. But modern browsers can be resource pigs, and you probably know this if you’ve ever launched Task Manager and taken a look at how much CPU and RAM your browser consumes right now. Now, Microsoft Edge is adding a new “performance mode” to help mitigate this, as reported in Microsoft forums.
The feature launches right now on the Canary update channel and is designed to help you optimize “speed, responsiveness, memory, CPU and battery usage,” according to the Settings page. The “battery usage” bit is important: while CPU and RAM usage may not be a big issue on your desktop computer, it’s higher for laptops, as higher CPU and RAM charging can cause The battery will run out faster, and it may even wear out your battery in the long run. And in the case of some laptops, especially other thin and light ones cheaper, CPU and RAM can be quickly overwhelmed by the intense use of the browser. This mode of performance would help mitigate this.
Among the changes, one notable is that the Sleeping Tabs feature will be locked for five minutes when Performance Mode is activated. Sleeping tabs, in case you don’t know what it is, practically freeze tabs that are left open in the background, saving resources when not in use. This feature is now launching in the Canary channel, especially version 91.0.856.0, so wait a while if you don’t feel comfortable using non-final software.