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Chrome on Android now provides faster, more power efficient video playback

Published Aug 3rd, 2016 5:27PM EDT
Chrome 52 Android Update Download

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How many hours a week do you spend watching video on your smartphone? It’s an incredibly convenient way to digest clips from late night talk shows, news reports, sports highlights and more, but it’s also the easiest way to kill your battery.

That’s why Google has made it a priority to turn Chrome into the best video playback browser on Android with its latest update.

READ MORE: The Marines now have robots that carry and fire heavy machine guns

“With the release of Chrome 52 on Android, video playback has been improved for speed and power efficiency,” Google explains. “This means you will see smoother playback and faster load times. Videos will now start playing sooner, instead of pausing briefly before loading, and your battery will last longer.”

Want proof? Check out the video comparison below:

In addition to improving video playback, Google is also giving users the ability to play video in Data Saver Mode, which could save you up to 50% on data by showing a lightweight version of the video on your display.

Chrome has been locked in a battle with Edge, Opera and Firefox as the four most popular browsers compete to grow their market share. Although Edge and Opera have made compelling cases against Chrome, Google’s browser still appears to be the browser to beat, both on mobile and desktop platforms.

The Chrome Browser doesn’t appear to have been updated on the Google Play store yet, but expect Chrome 52 to be available very soon.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.