4 ways Chrome makes my life easier — and 4 ways it drives me crazy

Google Chrome is like that old friend who overstays their welcome. I use it every day and depend on it for a living. Yet half the time, I just want to walk away.

With more than 65% global market share, Chrome is the default browser for the internet. Billions of users rely on it daily, even when it tests their patience.

Chrome didn’t take over the web accidentally. It works well, rarely crashes, and syncs everything I care about.

That polish, however, hides a cost.

System resources take a hit, battery drains faster, and privacy gets worse in small but noticeable ways.

Google has built a golden cage packed with some of the most useful tech features ever. But it’s still a cage.

Here’s why I stay, and why it sometimes makes me want to scream.

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Posts 24
By  Parth Shah

Other browsers feel clumsy after using the Omnibox

The bar that does everything

Chrome’s address bar pulls double duty. Chrome Actions turns it into a lightweight command line.

I don’t need to dig through layers of settings to clear my browser history. I type delete history into the address bar, and I’m done.

The Omnibox is predictive. It handles math, converts currencies, and much more. If I need to translate a page from a German tech blog, I type translate in the URL bar.

This sort of interaction lowers the mental overhead and keeps me in the flow, which is why I find other browsers dumb by comparison.

I’ll give you a few commands to try:

I use tab groups to structure work across devices

Color-coded survival

I am a tab hoarder, and they are a hazard. At any given moment, I have thirty tabs open.

Ten are for what I’m writing. Five are for my research on a new GPU. The other three are YouTube videos, because of ADHD.

Chrome’s Tab Groups feature is the only thing standing between me and a total mental breakdown.

I can right-click a tab, add it to a group, and color-code my life. I can group my travel research on my phone while I am sitting on the bus.

When I get home and open my laptop, that group is sitting there waiting for me. It is a seamless transition.

Chrome even suggests pages I was looking at on my other devices right on the new tab page.

Chrome Profiles enforce work-life balance

Two Chromes, one brain

I have a work profile with all my professional extensions, bookmarks, and history. I have a personal profile for my gaming news and social media.

These are completely isolated.

When I open my work profile, I am in a focused environment.

My personal stuff does not pop up, and my work history does not contaminate my personal searches.

Chrome’s extension ecosystem keeps me locked in

Twenty tiny reasons

The Chrome Web Store is the biggest library of browser tools on the planet. Because Chrome dominates, it’s the first browser developers target.

Safari and Firefox don’t stand a chance here.

I use extensions for everything. Grammarly fixes my typos. Developer tools help me analyze website performance.

The convenience of those twenty little tools pulls me back in every time.

Chrome’s performance costs are impossible to ignore

The RAM monster

Chrome has a reputation for being a RAM hog. That reputation is well-earned.

Google’s answer to this is Memory Saver mode. But it’s a band-aid on a bullet wound.

It works by discarding or freezing tabs I am not using. While this can save up memory if you are a tab lunatic like me, it leads to constant reloading.

Memory Saver helps, but nowhere near enough for modern web apps. Half the time, it feels like I’m babysitting Chrome instead of getting work done.

On 8GB machines (yes, Apple), it can slow the entire OS to a crawl.

I admit my many extensions contribute to Chrome’s RAM hunger. But a big reason Chrome dominates is this extension library.

If Google wants to stay ahead, it needs better memory management.

Manifest V3 pushed me toward alternatives

Ads win

Another controversy in the browser world right now is Manifest V3. This is a technical change to how extensions work.

Google says it is for security and performance. I say it is a conflict of interest.

Manifest V3 severely limits the API that ad-blockers rely on.

This is a fox guarding the henhouse scenario. The world’s biggest ad company is deciding the rules for ad-blocking software.

The result is a messier web experience that’s less private. It is enough to make me want to switch.

UI changes feel arbitrary and disruptive

Just leave it

I am a creature of habit. Chrome’s UI team apparently hates people like me. They keep changing things for the sake of modernizing them, and it is infuriating.

The most egregious example is the Download bubble. My downloads used to live in a bar at the bottom of the screen.

It was ugly, but it was functional. I could easily drag them into an email or Photoshop. Now, they are hidden in the upper-right corner.

Chrome is limited on mobile compared to desktop

Two browsers, one name

If I use Chrome on my desktop, I have a powerful, customizable tool. If I use it on my Android phone, I have a neutered version that feels a decade behind.

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The biggest slap in the face is the lack of extension support on mobile Chrome.

Browsers like Firefox for Android or the (now archived) Kiwi Browser proved that you can run extensions on a phone.

But now I’m stuck with whatever Google gives me.

Convenience comes with a cost; does Chrome justify it?

So, where does that leave us? We are all stuck in a long-term relationship with a browser that is increasingly demanding.

We pay a convenience tax every time we open Chrome.

We pay in RAM. We pay in battery life. We pay by letting Google dictate the rules of the web.

Is the trade-off still worth it? For me, the answer is a yes, for now.

I have tried switching to Safari, but I miss my extensions. I have tried switching to Firefox, but the sync feels a step slower. I have tried Edge, but the Microsoft bloat is just as bad as the Google bloat.

But the margin is getting thinner. The Manifest V3 rollout is a major blow. The resource usage is becoming a real problem as well.

If Google keeps pushing, I might finally hit my breaking point.

We use Chrome because it is the path of least resistance. It is the default, but default does not mean best. It means we have not found a good enough reason to leave yet.

The cage is still comfortable enough to stay in. But I am keeping one eye on the door.