Windows 11 26H2 update reportedly trims RAM usage for some users
Users report Windows 11's 26H2 update cutting boot memory use by 1GB to 3GB, though others see no change. Microsoft has said it is working to reduce the OS's RAM footprint.
The reports first surfaced in a Reddit thread flagged by Wccftech. One user wrote that boot RAM utilization sat at about 6.9GB before the update and dropped to between 4.8GB and 5GB afterward. Others in the same thread reported reductions of roughly 1GB, with one saying their usage was "indeed lower than it used to [be] by around 3GB" and another describing a fall of about a gigabyte as "pretty good stuff." Wccftech also pointed to a post on X from the account SoyITPro, where baseline RAM usage went from 9.1GB to 7.5GB, and to several other users reporting drops of 1GB or slightly more after installing 26H2.
Those gains do not appear universal. In the same discussions, users who installed 26H2 reported no change in memory usage compared with earlier builds. Several of the larger drops were observed on systems with bigger RAM pools, which is relevant to anyone running a lean 8GB configuration and hoping for the same result.
The timing lines up with work Microsoft has described. The company said at the beginning of August that it was working to make Windows 11 consume less memory. The 26H2 update itself adds relatively little in the way of new features, but it acts as a trigger for the rollout of changes that have not yet reached some PCs, which could explain why the improvements appear alongside it. A commenter in the Reddit thread said File Explorer now responds immediately instead of taking its usual five seconds, and File Explorer is one of the components Microsoft has said it is refining.
As Windows Latest reported, Microsoft is also addressing memory issues in WinUI, the framework used for the Windows 11 interface, which would affect both the desktop operating system and apps built on it.
TechRadar advised waiting before installing 26H2 to see whether bugs emerge, while noting that the upgrade has so far drawn few complaints about glitches. The outlet also cautioned that the memory figures come from a cluster of anecdotal user observations rather than controlled testing.