Windows 11 26H2 Boosts App Launch Times, Reduces Memory Usage
After a reboot, one Reddit user found their memory usage dropped by 2GB. Another user responded that they, too, had noticed a reduction in RAM usage.Since RAM usage when idle often just reflects Windows caching data it thinks you'll need soon to speed up app response times, this isn't indicative of improvements by itself. So, Windows Latest loaded the laptop with a number of apps to push RAM utilization, and memory usage remained lower than normal.
- ▪After a reboot, one Reddit user found their memory usage dropped by 2GB.
- ▪Another user responded that they, too, had noticed a reduction in RAM usage.Since RAM usage when idle often just reflects Windows caching data it thinks you'll need soon to speed up app response times, this isn't indicative of improvements
- ▪So, Windows Latest loaded the laptop with a number of apps to push RAM utilization, and memory usage remained lower than normal.
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| Original publisher | PCMag |
| Canonical URL | https://www.pcmag.com/news/windows-11-26h2-boosts-app-launch-times-reduces-memory-usage |
| Publication time | Mon, 05 Oct 26 17:23:06 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-10-05T19:59:57.191Z |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Microsoft's new Windows 11 26H2 update landed last week, and alongside the Low-Latency Profile performance boost for app load times, it includes Windows optimizations that dramatically reduce memory usage, making the OS leaner and less demanding on low-end systems, according to Windows Latest.Those memory-efficiency improvements are notable, given that new RAM is so expensive and Microsoft itself is selling laptops with just 8GB of DDR5 (we don't recommend buying one). After a reboot, one Reddit user found their memory usage dropped by 2GB. Another user responded that they, too, had noticed a reduction in RAM usage.Since RAM usage when idle often just reflects Windows caching data it thinks you'll need soon to speed up app response times, this isn't indicative of improvements by itself.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at PCMag.
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