Software King of the World: Microsoft claims Windows 11 is up to 20 per cent more responsive after improving memory management and everyday operations.
The changes cover Start, File Explorer and Search, with particular benefits claimed for machines running just 8GB of RAM. Apparently, letting applications use the memory customers bought has finally become a development priority.
Volish corporate vice president for Windows, Navjot Virk, said the work focuses on allocating resources more efficiently.
“A big part of that work is making smarter use of memory and system resources,” Virk wrote.
Vole says Windows can retain up to 2GB more active data in memory, reducing the need to move it into slower storage.
That could help users open several applications or browser tabs without needing another hardware purchase to accommodate the operating system’s appetite.
On PCs with 8GB or less, Widgets now wait to load until opened, freeing more than 200MB for other work. A remarkable breakthrough in the science of leaving things alone until someone actually wants them.
Further changes to Windows Update, faster Windows Hello sign-in and improved Bluetooth pairing reliability are expected with Vole, allowing users to reposition the taskbar along the sides or top of their display.
The advertised responsiveness improvement comes from Microsoft’s measurements of selected interface response times, comparing build 26300.9550 with build 26200.7628.
Those tests cover operations including Search, Start and right-click menus, leaving the headline figure short of a universal performance guarantee. Microsoft says results and rollout availability vary by device, configuration, usage and region.
