Microsoft has spent the past several months working on the performance of Windows 11, and the company now claims those efforts have made the operating system noticeably more responsive. According to Microsoft, recent changes can make everyday parts of Windows 11 up to 20% more responsive compared to how the operating system performed at the beginning of 2026.

The improvements aren’t about making games or demanding applications run 20% faster. Instead, Microsoft measured common Windows tasks, including opening the Start menu, using Search, launching Settings, navigating File Explorer, opening the right-click menu, and using the Snipping Tool. These are areas users interact with regularly, so faster response times should make the operating system itself feel smoother.

A big part of Microsoft’s work has focused on memory management, particularly for PCs equipped with only 8GB of RAM. Windows 11 can now keep up to 2GB more active data in system memory rather than moving it to slower storage. This means the system should spend less time transferring data back and forth when several applications or browser tabs are open.

Microsoft is also reducing how much RAM Windows uses for background features. Widgets, for example, no longer need to load automatically in the background and can instead load when the user actually opens them. According to Microsoft, this change alone can free up more than 200MB of memory, which could be particularly useful on systems with limited RAM.

Windows 11’s Photos app is another area getting significant performance improvements. Microsoft has rebuilt the native photo editor around WinUI 3, and the company claims the new version can launch 25% faster. The photo viewer is also said to start around 15% faster on average, while individual images can open up to 30% faster.

The redesigned Photos experience also brings a cleaner interface alongside features such as object removal and lighting adjustments. A new Gallery can combine locally stored pictures with images from OneDrive and iCloud, while natural-language search will allow users to find pictures by describing what they’re looking for.

Microsoft has made improvements elsewhere as well. Bluetooth pairing can now save up to 15 seconds when connecting devices such as AirPods, while Windows Hello has been improved to make signing in faster. Search is also being redesigned to use fewer resources while providing better results and allowing certain settings to be changed directly from search results.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.