Thanks to the new background optimization, the Chrome browser for the Windows 10/11 platform runs faster. With the joint efforts of Google and Microsoft, the two parties have been trying to reduce the priority of background tags by controlling JavaScript. So far, these efforts have reduced the CPU, GPU, and memory usage of Chromium-based browsers, allowing you to use the browser more actively.
As mentioned above, Google’s solution has always been limited to background tabs, but it has not processed the background windows accordingly. Now when the Chrome browser window is minimized to the taskbar, moved out of the screen, etc., these windows will also be treated like background tabs, which obviously helps to improve the performance of the Chrome browser.
Based on this assumption, Google began to study a project called “Native Window Occlusion” to reduce the background usage of tags in obscured windows (which users cannot actively see).
Google has been working on this project for more than three years, and it has solved compatibility issues with multi-monitor settings, virtual desktops, etc. As part of the optimization project, Google ignored scenes such as minimized windows (not visible to users) and virtual desktops.
Google pointed out in a blog post: The occlusion thread tells Windows that it wants to know about various Windows events. The UI thread tells Windows that it wants to know when there is a major state change, for example, the display is turned off, or the user locks the screen.” Google has been testing this feature for some time and is now open to everyone on Windows.
According to Google, the Chrome browser’s startup speed has now increased by 25.8%, and it has observed a 3.1% reduction in GPU memory usage. Similarly, Google reports that renderer frames have been reduced by 20.4% and rendering crashes have been reduced by 4.5%.