Google is reportedly using a different kind of memory management for its Chrome browser with the new Windows 10 May 2020 update that can theoretically improve RAM usage by up to 27% (via MSPowerUser).
Google Chrome is loved by many as it ties together the conveniences of working and living with a Google account into a browser you can use across several devices, keeping your data and passwords synced. But on desktops and laptops, Chrome is a notorious RAM hog that takes up a lot of memory and slows down machines.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 2004 update, rolling out worldwide to Windows 10 machines now, introduces something called Segment Heap memory management improvements that can reduce RAM use to some apps.
The MSPowerUser report cites a commit from a Google engineer who says that a new build of Chrome will take advantage of the update and use Segment Heap rather than the legacy heap method. It says that “this could save hundreds of MB in the browser and Network Service utility processes.”
Confusing, right? It basically means that in theory, Chrome will use less RAM on the latest version of Windows 10. This could improve performance of the app and of your whole system. Chrome use can sometimes make PCs run annoyingly slowly particularly if they have limited RAM, so it’s a welcome piece of (somewhat complicated) news.
Mac users will have to labour on with the issue, unfortunately – or use another browser.
