Microsoft Aims To Supercharge Windows Performance And Cut RAM Waste In 2026

A big part of Microsoft’s plan to boost Windows 11’s performance and reliability this year will come from improved memory efficiency. That includes lowering the baseline amount of RAM that Windows itself uses, freeing up additional capacity for other applications.

Over the past year, Microsoft has been dragged repeatedly for its focus on AI, including what many consider an increasingly intrusive Copilot. With the MacBook Neo undercutting typical Windows pricing and quality in the sub-$1,000 laptop market, Microsoft has pledged to make Windows a more attractive operating system for new and existing users.

“We are focusing on making Windows 11 more responsive and consistent, so performance feels smooth and reliable,” Pavan Davuluri, president for Microsoft’s Windows + Devices business, wrote in a blog post.

This will include a faster and more responsive Windows experience, particularly when it comes to launching applications and key components of Windows itself, such as File Explorer. That performance will extend more so under load, meaning your system is less likely to lock up once Windows is busy with a particular task.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Alongside memory-efficiency improvements, Microsoft also promised to reduce latency in application interactions by moving core Windows apps to the WinUI3 framework. This is Microsoft’s modern native UI framework for its Windows applications, but many of Windows’ existing apps were built on legacy frameworks and web-based layers. While that does make Windows flexible and improve backward compatibility, it also hamstrings performance. Moving legacy apps to the new framework would help reduce that impact.

That could result in smoother animations when opening and switching between apps, particularly in File Explorer. Windows Latest tested the latter in late 2025, and found that it started slower in Windows 11 versus Windows 10, even after changes to pre-load the app to accelerate its startup.

Another key area Microsoft promises to work on is the search function. As it stands, Windows search returns web results alongside installed apps, files, and folders, making it frustratingly obtuse at times. Microsoft now aims to improve search latency and accuracy so it finds what you’re looking for, rather than almost anything else. It will also replicate that search experience across the taskbar, File Explorer, and Settings to make it more consistent throughout Windows.

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Elsewhere, we can expect Microsoft to improve its drivers, Bluetooth stability, and USB reliability, and to make Windows more reliable when it wakes, especially when connected to laptop docks.

If Microsoft can achieve all that, it would go a long way to improving the modern Windows experience and make it more competitive with increasingly attractive alternatives. But these chnges will need to filter through the Insider pipeline before it can reach the masses, and that could take some time.