The developer version of the Opera web browser has introduced a new power-saving mode compared to Chrome, Opera claims that its new feature can increase laptop's battery life in Windows of up to 50 percent.
Opera has announced the new power-saving mode on its blog. The browser developer explains that the power saving comes from various tweaks, including optimized video playback, paused unused plug-ins and reducing memory consumption by background tabs. Users have to click a little icon that appears in the top right of the browser in order to activate the new power-saving mode.
According to The Verge, Opera's claims are impressive but the company backs them up with tests. The Selenium testing software was running on a Lenovo X250 laptop with a Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM, running Windows 10.
The testing software automatically opened up 11 "popular websites" in the browser. Then each of the tabs was scrolled down five times, left open for a minute and then closed down. The succession of operations was repeated until the laptop's battery was completely discharged.
It is expected that in the near future, the company will introduce the new power-saving mode to its primary browser as well. Recently, Opera has been integrating new features in the software, including a free VPM and native ad-blocking.
According to PC World, Opera seems determined to pack many improvements into a few short months. The low-power mode feature makes a compelling reason for users to switch browsers.
Krystian Kolondra, the senior vice president of engineering for Opera, has declared in a statement that it can be very frustrating to run out of battery on your laptop when you are watching videos or traveling. The new power-saving mode will notify users when the laptop starts to consume battery. If the new feature is enabled, it can increase laptop's battery life by up to 50 percent, Kolondra added.
