The dilemma with specific applications like Spotify and Slack is their propensity to extensively use your MacBook's CPU, leading to a rapid battery drainage issue. These third-party apps specifically designed for Mac seem to have a high power requirement in comparison with their equivalents on other platforms, which are less energy-consuming by nature.
This issue mainly involves the high energy consumption demands of streaming applications. These apps heavily rely on resources such as the internet, audio, and occasionally video to facilitate their functions. Together, these eligible contributors tend to reduce your MacBook's battery life considerably. For instance, Spotify, a cross-platform streaming service, consumes much energy.
These Apps Run a Full Copy of Google Chrome!
Technically speaking, the operation of these energy-greedy apps involves running a full copy of Google Chrome, which is renowned for consuming an unhealthy amount of energy. Every time you open an app like Spotify or Slack, this process is initiated, escalating the power demand.
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Multiple Blink Engine Copies
Further compounding this problem, these applications run multiple copies of Google Chrome's Blink engine. Given that each copy utilizes individual system resources in memory, CPU, and power, among others, the cumulative resource requirement becomes compounded and results in rapid battery drainage.
Solution: The Upcoming macOS Sonoma
The forthcoming macOS Sonoma promises a potential solution to the high power consumption by specific apps. It introduces the ability to create web apps directly in Safari, which are improved, power-efficient alternatives to traditional apps. This solution is easy to implement and effectively reduces the battery usage of your Mac.
With the macOS Sonoma, users can create their web apps directly in Safari. These web apps will serve the same purpose as the original apps but notably reduce power consumption. Instead of running a full-fledged version of the Google Chrome browser, these web apps use a Safari window as their canvas, which requires significantly less power and resources.
The web apps created in Safari don't have to fight for visibility amidst your browser tabs. They are independently launched and live in your Mac's Dock for easier access and usability. These web apps can be separately moved and organized in the Dock, just like any other app, ensuring your daily apps like Spotify and Slack are within quick reach.
Benefits of Conserving Battery and Smooth Performance
Web apps operating through Safari significantly reduce energy usage and better conserve the battery life of your MacBook. Since they share the same system resources as Safari, these apps do not substantially affect performance. While they can be launched and quit independently of Safari, their operation barely splashes the performance, ensuring smooth running.
Unavailable till October
It's important to note that, at this point, macOS Sonoma is not yet publicly available. However, users can access the developer beta by enabling beta software updates in System Settings. Please be aware that beta software versions might be unstable, consume more battery life, and carry the risk of data loss. If you can wait, the public release of macOS Sonoma is expected to be available in October.
Creating Web Apps
Creating your web application on macOS Sonoma is simple. This guide outlines your steps, from adding any website or web app to your Dock to personalizing the app with a custom name and icon. From within Safari on any website or web app, navigate to the menu bar and select 'File > Add to Dock.' This action will create a web app for the particular site and place it directly in your Dock for easy access. The created web app will use the title of the web page as its name, but you can change it.
Users like to customize their workspace, and web apps offer many customization options. For instance, you can give your web app a custom name or replace its default icon. If the site does not have a high-resolution icon, you can visit sites like macosicons.com to find a suitable icon, download it, and select it to replace the old icon from the web app screen. This way, your web app can be as personalized as you wish.
After the creation process, when you click the app icon in the Dock, it launches the app. If you were previously logged in on the web page, you should still be when you launch the web app. Post-creation, these apps are incredibly easy to use and can be opened from your Dock, Launchpad, or Spotlight, allowing for a seamless user experience.
Comparison to Official Chrome-Based Apps
These web apps can be better alternatives to official Chrome-based apps. They reside on the Dock and can be conveniently launched directly from there. Using Safari-enabled web apps, you can avoid the power-draining Chrome-induced issue and maintain a healthy battery life. But the advantages don't stop at conserving battery life; these web apps also help clear up storage space. You can remove the web app from the Dock if you don’t need it there constantly. The applications can be right-clicked, and by selecting 'Options,' you can uncheck 'Keep in Dock'. This makes the icon disappear when you quit the app, but it can constantly be relaunched from Launchpad or Spotlight, freeing up valuable Dock space.
Using and Managing Web Apps
We have learned about creating web apps and their benefits compared to traditional applications. Now, we shall delve into managing and using these web apps to meet your specific needs, from managing browsing data to managing apps on your Dock.
- Back/Forward Buttons and Browsing Data. Unlike the full browser version, once a site has been converted into a web app, it does not have a toolbar or URL bar. This implies no back or forward buttons, which might slightly inconvenience some users. However, you can manage your browsing data by visiting Safari > Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data.
- Third-Party Apps for More Control and Features. If the native experience of using web apps doesn’t fulfill your needs, you might explore third-party applications offering similar features. Tools like Unite can help you gain more control and features for your web applications such as loading the mobile site and keeping it in your menu bar.
- Keeping Apps in Applications Folder in the Finder. Adding a web app to your Dock automatically adds it to the Applications folder in the Finder. This allows you to access these applications even when not on your Dock. To tidy up and keep your workspace organized, you can quit these applications when not in use and quickly relaunch them when needed from the Applications folder.
- Keeping Dock Clutter-Free by Only Adding Frequently Used Apps. To keep your Dock clutter-free, it's recommended only to keep the apps you use daily. Other infrequently used apps can be stored in the Applications folder and launched using Spotlight or from the Finder.
