Google has long experimented with prerendering technology in Chrome to accelerate page loading by rendering content in advance so that pages would open instantly upon a click. However, this approach often consumed excessive memory and, at times, prematurely triggered portions of a website before the user had actually chosen to visit it.
The company is now developing a lighter-weight preloading mechanism. Instead of rendering an entire page ahead of time, Chrome will preload only the necessary elements, ensuring near-instant loading when the user clicks—delivering a smoother experience without the heavy memory overhead.
At present, this feature is limited to user-saved bookmarks. For instance, when a user hovers over an item in the bookmarks bar, Chrome quietly begins preloading parts of the linked page in the background. Similarly, hovering over the “+” button to open a new tab triggers preloading of the new tab page itself, enabling it to launch instantly.
In addition to hover-triggered preloading, Google is also refining the page rendering pipeline across Chrome for Windows, Linux, and macOS. When a new page begins loading, Chrome instructs the rendering process to dedicate resources exclusively to that task, channeling additional performance into the rapid loading of text, images, and video. While inactive tabs and background processes may experience a slight, temporary slowdown, the result is a noticeably faster and more responsive experience for the user.
This refinement not only reduces waiting times but also benefits both users and websites, as faster page loads tend to keep visitors engaged for longer sessions.
Experimental Options:
- Requirement: Chrome Canary version 142 or later
- Hover Preload:
chrome://flags/#prefetch-bookmarkbar-trigger - Rendering Process Optimization: Still under development, with no experimental flag available yet
