Does Chrome really drain the battery?

[MooSRI850]

Hello everyone,

I just switched to Mac after not owning one since 2009. I'm a huge Google and Chrome fan (Google Certified Educator, Level 1 and 2), but I read that it kills Mac batteries. Is this true? I'm afraid to even install it.

Thank you.

 

[Ember1205]

Yes, Chrome uses more battery / energy than the "typical" browser. However, that isn't to say it's going to actually -damage- the battery. Of course, using more battery power will cause you to put the battery through more charge cycles and that will lead to a shorter overall life.

The problem isn't that it draws battery power directly but that the way that it functions tends to use more CPU. That, in turn, draws more energy. For me, it's really my only choice. I generally don't like Safari and all of its shortcomings for what I do, and FF is just terrible. Doesn't leave me much choice.

 

[pigoo3]

If you prefer Chrome. Use it.

Some computing tasks use more energy & some computing tasks use less energy. Just the way it is. Don't sweat the details too much.

- Nick

 

[MooSRI850]

Thank you. I will give it a shot! I'm not really enjoying Safari.

 

[chscag]

Make sure you have downloaded the latest 64 bit version of Chrome. The older 32 bit versions which are still around are not as efficient and reportedly consume more battery. Chrome only recently (in the last year or so) actively developed their 64 bit version for Mac OS X. The Windows version has been 64 bit for some time.

 

[Ember1205]

It's still an energy hog compared to the other browsers... 64 bit or not...