Trending
Prev Story
Next Story

Microsoft says Windows 11 is now ‘more responsive’ and runs better on 8GB of RAM

The Verge •
October 15, 2026 • 01:41 PM
• By Tom Warren
5
5 reads 0 reactions

A lot of the speed improvements are thanks to smarter ways to manage memory and PC resources.

Microsoft says Windows 11 is now ‘more responsive’ and runs better on 8GB of RAM

A lot of the speed improvements are thanks to smarter ways to manage memory and PC resources.

A lot of the speed improvements are thanks to smarter ways to manage memory and PC resources.

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 that work is making smarter use of memory and system resources,” says Navjot Virk , corporate vice president of Windows experiences at Microsoft. “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.”

The improvements to memory management now make a “meaningful difference” on PCs with just 8GB of RAM. “Windows can now keep up to 2GB more of your active data in memory instead of moving it to slower storage,” says Virk. “For example, on PCs with 8GB of memory or less, Widgets load only when you open them, making more than 200 MB of memory available for your apps and other work.”

Microsoft has also made Windows Update less disruptive , cleaned up the Widgets section, and finally allowed the taskbar to be repositioned to the sides or top of a display. Windows Hello sign-in has also been sped up, and Bluetooth pairing is more reliable, “including an AirPods pairing experience that’s up to 15 seconds faster.”

The next big step is a new Windows Search experience that’s a lot faster and more capable. I got to try it out last week and I think it’s one of the best new additions to Windows 11 this year . It’s currently available for Windows Insiders, and Microsoft says it will “roll out more broadly later this year.”

This is the title for the native ad

This is the title for the native ad

Prev Swipe Story Next

Same Story from Other Publications

Compare how 6 other independent news outlets reported on this story.

6 Publications
Ars Technica
16h ago
Windows 0-day dropped by disgruntled researcher hands hackers System rights

Windows 0-day dropped by disgruntled researcher hands hackers System rights

SignDrop" exploit lets local users gain all-powerful System rights.

#microsoft #windows
Compare →
SBS News Australia
1h ago
Why Australians could face cyber security risks in the wake of the Microsoft outage

Why Australians could face cyber security risks in the wake of the Microsoft outage

Experts have encouraged businesses to build fallback plans for future outages.

#microsoft
Compare →
Wired
1h ago
Outlook Went Down? Microsoft May Owe You Money

Outlook Went Down? Microsoft May Owe You Money

If your Microsoft business services were offline last week, you’re probably entitled to a partial credit on your next monthly bill.

#microsoft
Compare →
The Guardian
7h ago
Microsoft ‘deeply sorry’ for global disruption that could have billion-dollar impact on Australia

Microsoft ‘deeply sorry’ for global disruption that could have billion-dollar impact on Australia

Experts say outage exposes ‘Australia’s reliance on foreign technology’ as software giant says services being restored

#microsoft
Compare →
Al Jazeera English
8h ago
Microsoft services begin recovering after global outage

Microsoft services begin recovering after global outage

Microsoft services began recovering on Friday after a global outage disrupted Outlook and Teams.

#microsoft
Compare →
The Age
10h ago
Microsoft’s global outage and fixes: What we know

Microsoft’s global outage and fixes: What we know

Some of Microsoft’s most popular products, including Outlook, Teams and Copilot, stopped working across the world. Burt the company says it is seeing “encouraging recovery progress”.

#microsoft
Compare →

Related Stories

Technology
Build #2612