The latest Chrome update (version 99) includes some super-useful features, like handwriting recognition and a dedicated download shortcut icon. But the best feature is a macOS exclusive—Chrome now beats Safari. Oh, and it’s also 15% faster on Android.

According to Google, the latest Chrome release scores a 300 in Apple’s Speedometer benchmark. That’s the highest score of any browser on Mac. Chrome is now 7% faster than Safari and loads graphics up to 15% faster than Apple’s browser.

These improvements are, in part, thanks to Apple Silicon. Just 14 months after adding M1 support to Chrome, the browser is now 43% faster on macOS. Other changes, including the launch of a new V8 Sparkplug compiler and short builtin calls, have also increased performance. (Sparkplug is a confusing Javascript compiler that’s best explained on the V8 website.)

But what about Android? Well, Google made some interesting changes to increase Chrome for Android’s performance. The browser now preloads much of its process code while it starts up, and it saves a ton of memory by de-prioritizing tabs and webpages that you aren’t actively using. That said, Chrome for Android isn’t “freezing” tabs in the traditional sense; it’s simply “freeze-drying” them by reducing their impact on CPU and memory.

Of course, Google notes that “benchmarks are just one of many ways of measuring the speed of a browser.” While it may excel at Apple’s speed test on macOS, real-world performance may still fall behind Safari, especially if you’re short on RAM.

Source: Google