14 DAY TRIAL // Google is working on a new feature that’s supposed to make Chrome browser faster at least on some websites.
Called the Never Slow mode, this new tool is supposed to help users in regions with slow Internet access large websites much faster, all by setting up restrictions regarding the size of resources that are loaded.
Basically, this new mode is based on what is being called budget management, which comes down to the way Google Chrome handles the available page resources.
By setting up size limits for each resource, certain data wouldn’t be loaded if it exceeds a specific threshold, which eventually makes the page loading itself faster.
As GHacks notes, Google is already testing limits for stylesheets, images, scripts, and fonts, with a 2 Megabytes threshold currently evaluated for photos.
Challenges that need to be addressed
Recently-discovered code provides us with a closer look at how the Never Slow mode could work once it becomes a part of the Google Chrome feature lineup:
“Currently blocks large scripts, sets budgets for certain resource types (script, font, css, images), turns off document.write(), clobbers sync XHR, enables client-hints pervasively, and buffers resources without `Content-Length` set. Budgets are re-set on interaction (click/tap/scroll). Long script tasks (> 200ms) pause all page execution until next interaction.”
Needless to say, such an approach towards the management of page resources could lead to major issues, including some websites failing to load completely given that certain data wouldn’t be used because of the limits set by the Never Slow mode.
It remains to be seen how and when Google will implement this update in Google Chrome, but for the time being, it’s still in the testing page. Early builds are currently being tested by the company in experimental versions of Chrome, but it could take longer than expected before they are promoted to the stable release.