Tip: Speed up Google Chrome for Android with this neat mod

BY Valerie Richardson

Published 31 Mar 2014

Google Chrome Android

The Chrome Browser on Android isn’t exactly the fastest in terms in performance, although it has come a long way since its early days. Given that it’s the stock browser on most Android smartphones, users don’t have much of a choice as far as alternatives go, especially considering all the features that it comes with. So here’s a neat little trick to speed up performance and load up times on the browser substantially, as noted by a user over at Reddit.

All you have to do is open Google Chrome on your mobile device (Beta or regular version) and type the following:

chrome://flags/#max-tiles-for-interest-area

Once this is done, users will have to select the maximum tiles for interest area and set it to 512 (it will be on 64 by default). Make sure you tap on the ‘Relaunch Now’ button that appears on the bottom of the screen to bring these changes to effect. This feature will basically allow for the browser to use more RAM and reduce the drop in frame rates as well.

Another noteworthy tweak changes the look and feel of the ‘New Tab’ option. You can enable it with the following command:

chrome://flags/#enable-new-ntp

So with these two commands, your Chrome browser on Android will perform much faster and become more responsive as well. Although it will increase RAM usage, it seems like a minor sacrifice given the boost in performance.

Try it out and let us know what you think.

[Via Reddit]