Microsoft says Windows 11 is now ‘more responsive’ and runs better on 8GB of RAM
Earlier this year Microsoft laid out a plan to fix Windows 11, with a focus on performance, reliability, and the overall OS experience. After months of fixes, Microsoft now says the "result is a Windows experience that's up to 20 percent more responsive." Microsoft has made improvements to Start, File Explorer, Search, Edge, and other parts of Windows 11 to make it feel faster and more responsive. "A big part of…
Key points
- Microsoft says its months of fixes have produced a Windows 11 experience that is up to 20 percent more responsive.
- Memory management changes let Windows keep up to 2GB more active data in memory and make a meaningful difference on PCs with 8GB of RAM.
- A faster, more capable Windows Search is available to Windows Insiders and will roll out more broadly later this year.
Microsoft says its months-long effort to improve Windows 11 has paid off, with the company claiming the operating system is now up to 20 percent more responsive. The work covered Start, File Explorer, Search, Edge and other parts of Windows 11, following a plan Microsoft set out earlier this year focused on performance, reliability and the overall OS experience.
According to Microsoft, the changes also make Windows 11 run better on machines with limited memory, including PCs with just 8GB of RAM.
What Microsoft said
Navjot Virk, corporate vice president of Windows experiences at Microsoft, said a major part of the effort involved making smarter use of memory and system resources. He said Microsoft improved memory management and efficiency across Windows so more of a PC's resources stay focused on what the user is actively doing.
Virk said Windows can now keep up to 2GB more active data in memory instead of moving it to slower storage. On PCs with 8GB of memory or less, Widgets load only when opened, freeing more than 200 MB of memory for apps and other work, he said.
We've improved memory management and efficiency across Windows to help keep more of your PC's resources focused on what you're actively doing.
— Navjot Virk
Other changes and next steps
Microsoft has also made Windows Update less disruptive, cleaned up the Widgets section and allowed the taskbar to be repositioned to the sides or top of a display. Windows Hello sign-in has been sped up, and Bluetooth pairing is more reliable, including an AirPods pairing experience that Microsoft says is up to 15 seconds faster.
The next major step is a new Windows Search experience that Microsoft describes as much faster and more capable. It is currently available for Windows Insiders, and Microsoft says it will roll out more broadly later this year.
