“Although individual device performance varies depending on configuration and usage, we expect the decrease in resource and battery usage to create a better browsing experience for users,” said Microsoft’s Eleanor Huynh.
By default, Microsoft has set tabs to go to sleep after two hours of inactivity. If two hours isn’t right, you can choose a different time interval and once you’re ready to view the webpage again you simply click on it like a normal tab. The tab will un-fade and your content will be there immediately – ready to use.
Why this update is so important for Microsoft is that Chrome remains notoriously bad for battery drain. If Microsoft can live up to its claims then its Chromium-based Edge browser could continue to grow in popularity.=