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Laptop users could get as much as 50% extra battery life following a new power-saving mode integrated into the Opera browser.
Opera claim it is the first major browser to offer the “dedicated power-saving mode” which is activated by a simple click of the mouse when the battery cable on your laptop is unplugged.
The power savings are made through a number of browser optimisations, including reducing activity in background tabs, that should allow laptop users extra hours when they are on the move or without a power cable.
After conducting tests Opera believe the power savings have been made “without compromising the speed and functionality you expect”.
Testing was done to reflect how people normally use their browsers and results showed the Opera system could last 50% longer than other browsers such as Google Chrome, when running Windows 10, 64-bit.
The power-saving results were found using a Lenovo X250, Core i7-5600U, 16GB RAM and Dell XPS 13, 16GB RAM running on Windows 10, 64-bit, high-performance power mode. Opera said it used Selenium WebDriver loading 11 popular websites including YouTube.
“Running out of battery is one of the most frustrating things that can happen to you while browsing,” Opera vice-president, engineering services, Pawel Miniewicz said in a blog on the organisation’s website.
“Whether you are travelling, watching videos, or you have just left your charger behind, the icon showing that your battery is dying is something none of us really want to see when we have important things to do online.
“Luckily, since people spend almost all their time in their web browser and relatively speaking little time in other desktop applications, this is something we can do something about.
“Some months ago, we asked our browser engine team to start tuning Opera in order to give people people more hours of browsing when on the move.”
To flick the power-saving switch users need only to click on to the battery icon, which appears when the laptop is unplugged from a power source, while the browser will also suggest the power-saving mode when the laptop has 20% battery left.
