Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing

Microsoft is working on new updates to make Windows 11 faster next year

By

There’s good news ahead for Windows 11 users, especially if the upgrade has left you with a sluggish system. Microsoft is promising that fixes and updates are on the way next year that will improve the performance of the operating system, which has received numerous complaints from Windows fans.

“Performance will be an area of focus for us in 2022,” Microsoft’s Windows developer team wrote in a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) post as reported by TechRadar, noting that improving the responsiveness of Windows is a priority for the company. “A lot of that focus will go into startup/launch perf; in terms of UI elements rendering on the screen (after the framework is loaded), we’ve tested the scalability of doing things like putting 10k buttons on the screen, etc.”

The keyboard tilted up on the Surface Pro 8.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In the same Reddit thread, one user complained about startup performance, the widely publicized File Explorer glitch, and other menu and language bar items that are slow when compared with Windows 10. Some of these complaints, however, are already being addressed by Microsoft. Though a public release isn’t available quite just yet, Microsoft is already testing some of the fixes in its latest Windows Insider preview build for the operating system.

Recommended Videos

Microsoft’s team advised users who have encountered issues and problems to provide the company with feedback to improve Windows 11.

Related: 
The 8 best TVs for gaming in 2025, as vetted by our experts

“One way you could help us is to launch Feedback Hub and enter a performance-related problem,” the developer team wrote.

Though stuttering performance may be an embarrassing issue for Microsoft’s latest operating system, there are other issues affecting Windows 11 as well. Memory leaks, compatibility issues, lack of customization options, and a jarring look with old UI elements mixed with Windows 11’s latest experience round out some of the top complaints we’ve heard about the OS. Microsoft also made headlines ahead of Windows 11’s rollout with its decision to limit upgrade eligibility to newer hardware. If you’re on the fence about upgrading to Windows 11, provided your machine is compatible with the latest operating system, you’ll need to weigh your options at this time, especially given the performance-plaguing bugs still out there.

Microsoft isn’t the only company to face performance related criticism with its latest operating system release. Those who have upgraded to Apple’s latest MacOS Monterey have also reported sluggish performance that’s related to a bug that causes memory leaks.

Chuong Nguyen
Chuong Nguyen
Computing Writer
Silicon Valley-based technology reporter and Giants baseball fan who splits his time between Northern California and Southern…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

A new test shows Microsoft Recall’s continued security problems
Recall screenshot.

Microsoft is currently previewing its latest version of Recall to Windows Insiders on Snapdragon-, Intel-, and AMD-based Copilot+ PCs -- and the topic on most users' minds is security. The company updated its security and privacy architecture for the feature in September, but, according to tests run by Tom's Hardware, it still might not be good enough.

The new version of Recall includes a sensitive information filter that's supposed to detect when there's information like credit card numbers and Social Security numbers on the screen. If it detects them, it will avoid taking a screenshot. When Tom's Hardware put this filter to the test, however, it failed in a number of situations.

Read more
Windows 11 can now run on unsupported systems, but there’s a catch
A laptop sits on a desk with a Windows 11 wallpaper.

Microsoft is now allowing users to update to Windows 11 on older, unsupported hardware, including systems that don’t meet the operating system’s strict hardware requirements.

While the company initially set these requirements — including the need for a TPM 2.0 chip and specific processor models — to ensure performance, reliability, and security, it has now provided a manual installation option for those who want to use Windows 11 on unsupported machines.

Read more
Windows 11 Recall officially comes to Intel and AMD
Microsoft Recall feature.

Microsoft is finally expanding support for the Recall AI feature to Copilot+ PCs running Intel and AMD processors after the function has returned from a bevy of issues.

The company made Recall available to Copilot+ PCs exclusively running Qualcomm processors in a late-November Windows 11 update, giving Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel access to the AI feature that take “snapshots” of your PC so you can search and look up aspects of your device in the future.

Read more