The most important check on a Mac with Apple silicon is that Chrome is running as an Apple silicon or Universal app, not an Intel-only copy. Select Google Chrome in your Applications folder, choose File > Get Info (or press ⌘ + I), and read the line after Kind:
- Application (Universal) or Application (Apple silicon): Chrome runs natively on your Mac. Good.
- Application (Intel): this copy is made for Intel Macs. Replace it with the current download from Google, below.
The Kind labels come from Apple’s guide to using Intel-based apps on a Mac with Apple silicon. Apple recommends replacing Intel-based apps with a Universal or Apple silicon version for the best performance and future compatibility.
Download Chrome for Mac: googlechrome.dmg, from Google’s own servers. Google lists it as a Universal installer for both Intel and ARM (Apple silicon) Macs on its Chrome Enterprise download page. Open the file and drag Chrome to the Applications folder, replacing the old copy. Step-by-step help is on our Chrome for Mac page.
Use Chrome’s performance settings
All of these are in the three-dot More menu > Settings > Performance, as described in Google’s performance guide.
- Memory Saver deactivates tabs you aren’t using so active tabs run smoothly. Inactive tabs reload when you click them. Choose Moderate, Balanced (Google’s recommendation) or Maximum. Google suggests it for smoother video and gaming tabs too.
- Always keep these sites active protects sites that must keep running, such as a chat app, from Memory Saver.
- Energy Saver extends battery life on a MacBook. It works while the Mac is unplugged or its battery is low, and stops eligible CPU-intensive background tabs. Tabs on video calls or playing audio aren’t affected. You may notice changes in gaming and video performance while it is on.
To see how much memory a tab uses, go to Settings > Appearance and turn on Show memory usage on tab hover preview card, then point at a tab.
Find what is using memory or battery
Inside Chrome: select More > More tools > Task Manager, select Memory to sort, and end any task you don’t need with End process. Turn off extensions you don’t use in More > Extensions > Manage Extensions. Both steps are in Google’s speed-up guide.
Across the whole Mac: open the Activity Monitor app.
- Click Energy to see each app’s Energy Impact, where lower is better. On a MacBook, the 12 hr Power column shows the average over the last 12 hours (from Apple’s Activity Monitor guide).
- Click Memory and look at the Memory Pressure graph. Green means your Mac is using its memory efficiently, yellow means it might eventually need more, and red means it needs more (from Apple’s memory guide).
Use Low Power Mode on battery
macOS has its own battery setting. Apple’s guide to Power Modes on your Mac says to choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Battery, and pick Low Power Mode from the “On battery” menu under Energy Mode. It reduces energy use to increase battery life.
Keep Chrome and macOS up to date
Select More > Help > About Google Chrome. If you see Relaunch, select it. If there is no Relaunch button, you have the latest version. Google’s update help also lets Mac users turn on automatic updates for every account on the Mac with Automatically update Chrome for all users, if Chrome is in the Applications folder.
If Chrome crashes
Google’s crash help suggests closing other tabs and apps, restarting Chrome and then the Mac. If a page works in another browser but not in Chrome, try turning off Use hardware acceleration when available in Settings > System and restarting Chrome. Turn it back on if it doesn’t help.
More for Mac users: fixing Chrome battery drain and why Chrome is slow on a Mac.