Windows 11's upcoming 26H2 update promises snappier app launches and a lighter memory footprint.
Microsoft is rolling out performance changes in the 26H2 update that speed up how quickly apps open and trim how much RAM Windows uses just sitting idle. Early tests suggest the baseline memory footprint, what Windows eats up before you even open an app, could drop by roughly 2GB. That is a real difference on machines with limited RAM, where background overhead eats into whatever is left for actual work. Details on which subsystems were optimized, or how the tests were run, have not been published.
This matters because Windows has spent years stacking background services, telemetry, and preloaded processes that quietly consume memory. A 2GB cut, if it holds up, is the kind of unglamorous fix that improves daily use more than most headline features ever do. It also arrives as Microsoft pushes Copilot+ PCs and competes with leaner operating systems on lower-spec hardware, where every gigabyte freed up is a gigabyte Windows does not have to apologize for.
"Early tests" is a low bar. Until independent reviewers reproduce the 2GB number outside of preview builds, file this under promising, not proven.