Windows 11 is beginning to look higher however Microsoft’s apps are letting it down
Despite what you have learn, 2026 has been a great yr for Windows 11, and the 26H2 replace about to land on everybody’s system is, dare I say, an actual trigger for celebration. Refinements and customization for Explorer, Taskbar, Search, and the Start Menu go far past visible adjustments, delivering significant updates to the OS for pace and responsiveness that talk for themselves.
So, why then, is it frequently Windows 11 first-party apps that really feel like a uncared for drawback dragging down the remainder of the Windows 11 expertise?
Windows 11’s actual reminiscence hog is not the shell; it is the built-in apps
Why does the Weather app want 1GB RAM?
Windows 11’s GUI will get blamed for the OS’s excessive useful resource consumption, however that’s removed from the reality. The largest offender behind Windows 11’s useful resource depth is the pre-installed apps. You can try to de-bloat by removing or disabling these first-party apps, however some are integral to the Windows 11 expertise and unavoidable.
The largest explanation for their useful resource hogging is that they are constructed on applied sciences like WebView2. That primarily means they’re internet wrappers, so that you’re operating a browser in a local app shell.
This is why you may see Windows 11 apps consuming greater than 500 MB of RAM on their very own, and in some circumstances the Weather app alone hogs more than 1GB RAM. The Weather app is not an outlier, and the brand new Outlook usually consumes between 600–750MB RAM as effectively.
Taken collectively, these apps can use practically all of your RAM earlier than you even begin work by opening a browser. Not to say the telemetry and advertisements they embody.
Microsoft’s 8GB RAM pitch for Windows 11 would not maintain up
One built-in app can burn by an eighth of your reminiscence
Memory costs are not any joke, and shopping for a brand new pc has change into so draining on the pockets. This is why 8 GB RAM computer systems are making a comeback, like the brand new Surface laptops or the MacBook Neo, the latter of which is now closing in on the $1000 mark. Specifically for Windows, Microsoft claims that 8GB RAM is enough, and no one is simply too satisfied by their statements.
I’ve tried that configuration myself, and I’d name it extra of a baseline setup because you barely get any respiratory room with it.
The take a look at I did was utilizing Windows 11 usually, as I’d do with none heavy workloads, and after disabling all of the startup apps and never utilizing any first-party Windows apps, e.g., Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and Weather (no, I’ll by no means use a separate app simply to know the way humid it’s on the market).
Even although these apps are important to my day by day workload, utilizing first-party apps on an 8 GB configuration can be practically inconceivable as a result of your system will already be swapping to disk earlier than you even begin doing something in your PC. So, except Microsoft does one thing concerning the first-party apps, their very own pitch would not actually maintain up.
Help is likely to be on the way in which for Windows 11’s bloated apps
The K2 initiative needs to maneuver first-party apps to WinUI 3
The visible redesign for Windows 11 means nothing if the core apps are dragging it down, however luckily, that will not be the case without end. Microsoft is acquainted with the first-party app state of affairs, and it is already constructing a devoted engineering crew to handle it, led by Rudy Huyn, Partner Architect at Microsoft.
As a part of the Windows 11 “K2” initiative, these first-party apps will change to WinUI 3, the newer native UI framework for desktop apps that delivers main efficiency positive factors. However, altering to a more recent UI framework alone does not imply something except they alter the underlying code, startup, reminiscence administration, and extra to realize precise floor in minimizing useful resource consumption.
This work may additionally be restricted to first-party apps inside Windows, like Search, Clock, and Weather. Other apps like Microsoft Teams, Copilot, and OneDrive are totally different from the core Windows service, so it is unclear whether or not they’ll be included on this effort, at the very least for now.
These efforts may take some time
Right now, Microsoft’s efforts give attention to enhancing the shell elements. While I’m excited about the upcoming Taskbar, Context Menu, and different adjustments, it is going to be some time till we see enhancements for the first-party apps, presumably even for the 27H1 replace subsequent yr.
The reminiscence disaster is anticipated to ease up in the midst of 2027, and I’m anxious it is likely to be too late for Microsoft to repair the problems then, particularly since they should not have existed from day one.
