A new feature of Google Chrome could make it faster to navigate the web pages you just visited, thanks to the full saving of the same. In fact, the browser could store all the contents, including JavaScript statuses, keeping them in the system memory even when you have switched to a new page.

Keeping the web page in its entirety within the RAM memory , the browser can load almost instantly the page previously visited without having to download the data from the servers again and without having to rework the various elements. To date, the feature already exists in a prototype, and two videos of the same (on desktops and smartphones) have been shown on the Google Developers site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuPsdRckkF0

The feature is now known as bfcache , or back / forward cache , and aims to improve the browsing experience especially on smartphones and tablets. According to data released by Google navigation to previously visited pages consists of 19% of all mobile browsing experiences, and could offer benefits both in terms of performance, both in terms of efficiency and bandwidth consumption when you are around.

However, it is a feature already present on other browsers , such as Safari and Firefox to name a few, but Google emphasizes that in its implementation there are some differences that allow Chrome to take advantage of the bfcache on a number of sites more consistent than the competing software. It is clear that with bfcache additional performance will come with an extra sacrifice in terms of RAM consumption .

Developers are currently creating rules that will help reduce the impact of system memory functionality, for example deciding under which circumstances to keep pages in memory or not. There will be some situations in which Chrome will not allow the saving in RAM of web pages, either for limited compatibility of the technologies used, or for not compromising the user's privacy .

It must be said, however, that Chrome will not see the new feature for a long time, at least in stable release channels: according to the current plans of the company the bfcache will arrive on Chrome not before 2020. Google is trying to improve performance of its browser and, in addition to the features already implemented, has several projects in the pipeline: for example the Never-Slow Mode we talked about before, or lazy loading .

To these will be added the bfcache, oriented above all to ultra-portable devices. The test phase will be accelerated in the next few months of 2019, and during this period web developers will have the possibility to optimize their web pages so that they are compatible both with the implementation of Chrome, and with that of other solutions on the market. .