Microsoft says Windows 11 is more responsive as redesigned Photos app rolls out to Insiders
Microsoft says Windows 11 is up to 20% more responsive and has redesigned Photos to combine PC, OneDrive, and iCloud galleries.
Earlier this year, Microsoft laid out a plan to fix Windows 11 with a focus on performance, reliability, and the overall OS experience. After months of fixes, Microsoft now says the result is a Windows experience that is up to 20 percent more responsive. The company has improved Start, File Explorer, Search, Edge, and other parts of Windows 11 to make it feel faster and more responsive. Navjot Virk, corporate vice president of Windows experiences at Microsoft, said a big part of that work is making smarter use of memory and system resources. "We've improved memory management and efficiency across Windows to help keep more of your PC's resources focused on what you're actively doing," Virk said.
The memory management improvements now make a "meaningful difference" on PCs with just 8GB of RAM, according to Virk. "Windows can now keep up to 2GB more of your active data in memory instead of moving it to slower storage," he said. On PCs with 8GB of memory or less, Widgets load only when users open them, making more than 200MB of memory available for apps and other work.
Microsoft has also made Windows Update less disruptive, cleaned up the Widgets section, and allowed the taskbar to be repositioned to the sides or top of a display. Windows Hello sign-in has been sped up, and Bluetooth pairing is more reliable, including an AirPods pairing experience that is up to 15 seconds faster.
The next big step is a new Windows Search experience that is faster and more capable. A Verge reporter tried it last week and described it as one of the best new additions to Windows 11 this year. It is currently available for Windows Insiders, and Microsoft says it will roll out more broadly later this year.
Microsoft also redesigned its Photos app for Windows 11, overhauling the editor and image viewer and combining photos and videos from a PC, OneDrive, and iCloud into a single space. The combined gallery aims to make it easier to manage and view photos without jumping between apps or devices, while also improving app launch and scrolling performance in Photos.
To combine galleries in the Windows 11 Photos app, users need to turn on Camera Backup in the OneDrive mobile app on iOS or Android and follow Apple's guide to set up iCloud for Windows. Once combined, users can browse by date, organize and share albums, and search for specific photos via descriptions or by the people featured in them. Files can be browsed online or offline, and Microsoft says photos will be available on the device "even when you're not connected."
The new Photos editor has been "rebuilt from the ground up," according to Microsoft, launching 25 percent faster and arranging tools into four categories: Crop, Enhance, Repair, and Stylize. The Photos app now also preserves HDR quality during editing processes and allows users to edit and save HEIC and WebP images without altering their original format.
The viewer has been given a cleaner layout and performance enhancements, launching 15 percent faster and opening HEIC images up to 30 percent faster, according to Microsoft's announcement. Media type support has also expanded to SVG files. These new Photos experiences are rolling out today as an update for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, with Microsoft expecting a full launch for all Windows 11 users later this year.
Editor's Summary Microsoft's Oct. 15 Windows 11 update focuses on speed and memory efficiency, claiming up to 20 percent more responsiveness and better performance on 8GB RAM systems. The redesigned Photos app combines local, OneDrive, and iCloud galleries and introduces a faster editor and viewer, initially for Windows Insiders. Broader availability for the new Search and Photos features is expected later this year.