Chrome for M1 Mac runs 80% faster than Rosetta 2 version

       Google released a version of Chrome designed specifically for Apple's M1 Mac earlier this week.

　　As a result, those with a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or Mac mini can get their own optimized version of Chrome that has been tested to run 66% to 81% faster than the x86 version running through Rosetta 2.

　　After the M1 version of Chrome was released, Ars Technica ran a series of benchmarks using Speedometer 2.0, JetStream2, and MotionMark 1.1, and in all cases the M1 version of Chrome was significantly faster than the x86 transposed version.

　　On the Speedometer 2.0 test, the M1 Chrome scored 210, while the standard Chrome scored 116, and on the Jetstream 2 test, the M1 Chrome scored 156.9, while the standard Chrome scored 93.1. On the MotionMark 1.1 test, the M1 Chrome scored 726.4, while the standard Chrome scored 435.7.

　　In all tests, the native M1 version of Chrome performed 66% to 81% better than the version running Rosetta 2. Of course, Safari, designed by Apple, is the natively fastest of all browsers, ranking at the top in all tests.

　　According to Ars Technica, the Speedometer test better simulates real-life usage, which is where the two browser versions have their biggest advantage. Jetstream 2 does a good job of simulating web applications, such as spreadsheets, while MotionMark 1.1 only tests complex graphics animation performance.

　　Google began rolling out a new version of its Chrome 87 browser on Tuesday, claiming it is "the biggest performance improvement for Chrome in years." The company's blog about the new version did not mention anything about a version optimized for Apple's Arm-based Macs. Users can currently download it from the official website.