MICROSOFT COMMITS TO IMPROVING WINDOWS 11 PERFORMANCE ON 8GB RAM

Microsoft has added four new items to its Windows 11 improvement programme, including optimisation for systems with 8GB of RAM. Pavan Davuluri, Microsoft's executive vice-president for Windows and Devices, outlined the commitments in a blog post reviewing progress from the repair campaign that began in March 2026. The company stated it would focus on "reducing Windows memory footprint to deliver a fast and responsive Windows experience across the PCs customers use every day." The announcement acknowledges that current versions of Windows 11 consume more memory than users expect on 8GB systems.

Microsoft initially set system requirements stating Windows 11 needs a minimum of 4GB of RAM, with 16GB of DDR5 or LPDDR5 memory required for Copilot+ PCs capable of handling AI workloads. The company has already introduced several memory efficiency improvements, including adopting a more efficient memory allocator and optimising WinUI 3 so applications built on the framework use less memory by design. Microsoft has also worked on efficiency improvements across Chromium and Webview2 components that appear in the operating system. Beyond memory optimisation, the three other areas added to Microsoft's to-do list include faster and more efficient setup processes, improved family setup with more accessible parental controls, and making voice functionality more natural and responsive across applications.

The focus on 8GB systems reflects broader trends in the PC market, where some laptop manufacturers have reduced standard RAM configurations to 8GB rather than the 16GB baseline that had been emerging. The memory optimisation commitment represents ongoing effort to address user complaints about Windows 11's performance and resource consumption. Davuluri acknowledged that much of the announced work has not yet appeared in production versions of Windows 11.