Can Microsoft Really Make Windows 11 Suck Less on Weak PCs?

Microsoft president of Windows and devices Pavan Davuluri reiterated plans to optimize Windows 11 for low-end PCs, including reducing memory footprint for systems with 8GB of RAM, as memory prices surge and competition from Apple's MacBook Neo intensifies. The company aims to deliver a fast and responsive Windows experience across everyday PCs, addressing excessive memory usage and offering more control over Copilot AI integration, widgets, and taskbar orientation.

Close to five years after Microsoft first launched Windows 11 https://gizmodo.com/theres-no-saving-windows-11-its-time-for-windows-12-2000746855 , the tech giant is finally offering the smallest token of love for cheap Windows machines. It’s not so much out of the goodness of its AI-fueled heart https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-will-soon-release-an-ai-super-app-2000792653 . Microsoft has to support minimum-specced laptops because every other PC is too damn unaffordable https://gizmodo.com/laptop-prices-have-passed-the-point-of-no-return-2000778294 . Over the weekend, Microsoft’s president of Windows and devices, Pavan Davuluri, reiterated https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/07/31/windows-quality-an-update-on-the-commitment-we-made-in-march/ that the company plans https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/07/31/windows-quality-an-update-on-the-commitment-we-made-in-march/ to fix Windows 11 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-is-finally-ready-to-make-windows-11-less-terrible-after-bloating-it-with-ai-crap-2000736302&ved=2ahUKEwiLiq360oSWAxXB1vACHZriNhYQFnoECBkQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Zhti0nLV8Vc2QUEzk7weI , namely to quit forcing Copilot AI integration where it isn’t necessary, offer more control over widgets and taskbar orientation, and enable a faster File Explorer. Microsoft further promised to fix Windows 11’s Achilles’ heel—the excessive amount of memory the operating system hogs, even during minimal use. The Windows maker said it would reduce the operating system’s “memory footprint to deliver a fast and responsive Windows experience across the PCs customers use every day,” namely for systems with 8GB of RAM. For years, Microsoft has pushed 16GB as the baseline for new PCs. That RAM spec was one of the requirements for receiving the Copilot+ https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://gizmodo.com/microsofts-push-for-copilot-plus-pcs-could-stall-laptop-sales-2000701505&ved=2ahUKEwik6ru90oSWAxWHhIkEHZmaDcAQFnoECA0QAQ&usg=AOvVaw3wvfVJlX49fxsDYdwU019n standard, the company’s designation for systems capable of running AI features such as the oft-maligned Recall. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://gizmodo.com/tech-companies-are-blocking-microsofts-creepy-recall-feature-2000634506&ved=2ahUKEwiT8bPb0oSWAxWklIkEHewFK40QFnoECBoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0qIwJHW8iGLbRpNeBKQb7y Three years after Copilot+’s debut, it’s safe to say the race to AI-ify our PCs was not worth the cost. The company’s own Surface PCs have seen massive price hikes https://gizmodo.com/the-ram-crisis-just-royally-screwed-microsoft-surface-pcs-2000746236 in the last few months. The minimum-specced Surface Laptop 13-inch with 16GB of RAM now starts at $1,150. The same model with half the memory https://gizmodo.com/microsofts-revised-surface-laptop-is-cheaper-and-worse-than-before-2000776146 sits at $950. With memory prices surging well beyond affordability, we’re seeing more laptops trying to entice users by offering configurations with limited RAM. Dell’s XPS 13 https://gizmodo.com/dell-xps-13-2026-review-truly-the-macbook-neo-of-pcs-2000789824 with 8GB of LPDDR5X memory costs $700. Twice the RAM will require $900. This sub-$1,000 price range is becoming even more important thanks to the competition from Apple MacBook Neo https://gizmodo.com/macbook-neo-review-no-other-budget-laptop-can-compete-2000731635 . That Mac costs $700 with 8GB of unified memory—which allows the memory pool to be used across the CPU, GPU, and other system components. Apple’s macOS is also less of a memory hog than Windows 11. In other words, Microsoft really has no choice but to optimize its OS for 8GB systems. Making Windows more efficient is no simple task. Windows 11’s minimum specs https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-11-specifications require 4GB of RAM, but that’s just what’s necessary to run the OS. Since the beginning, much of Windows 11 has been built on a specialized Chromium engine yes, the same system that powers most of today’s browsers called WebView2 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/landing/ . That means most widgets, the Settings panel, the Start menu, and many other background apps are essentially miniature browser tabs. Some features Microsoft was testing https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/12/07/windows-11s-agenda-view-in-the-notification-center-is-a-webview2-web-app-component-not-native/ as late as December last year use WebView2. All those WebView2 tabs consume memory while running in the background. With just 8GB of system RAM, a weak PC may have only a small percentage of its memory left for other apps. Microsoft is already remaking parts of the OS, such as the Properties dialog box https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/07/22/first-look-windows-11-is-replacing-windows-95-era-properties-dialog-now-with-dark-mode-and-winui/ , without the memory-hogging WebView2. Davuluri said in his latest blog post that his team was “driving efficiencies across Chromium and WebView2 components when they appear in the operating system.” It’s also apparently working to reduce overhead across apps with a “more efficient memory allocator.” Those users who are currently suffering on 8GB Windows 11 laptops will be the real winners here. But those of us who hoped to buy a new PC this year are still going to have to decide between buying a weaker PC that may or may not improve with time or spending way more money on a machine we can do the job now and—hopefully—later.