At the IFA 2026 exhibition, Microsoft announced upcoming performance optimizations for Windows 11. The company plans to significantly reduce system boot times and improve the responsiveness of security features like Windows Hello. While specific performance metrics were not disclosed, Microsoft confirmed that these improvements are currently undergoing internal testing.
A major focus for 2026 is enhancing the basic user experience. Starting with the September 8, 2026, Patch Tuesday update, users will gain the ability to move the taskbar, resize the Start menu, and remove Bing web content from Windows Search. These features aim to restore functionality found in previous versions of the operating system.
Microsoft is also prioritizing optimization for devices with 8GB of RAM. Corporate Vice President Mark Linton noted that the company is refining the system to ensure smooth operation on lower-memory hardware. This effort addresses concerns regarding the high cost of memory and aims to reduce system overhead, which will benefit users across all memory configurations.
This strategy shift follows the introduction of Copilot Plus PC, which previously set a 16GB RAM requirement for AI features. By optimizing the underlying system for 8GB devices, Microsoft seeks to balance hardware resource management with its broader AI integration goals, moving away from policies that effectively excluded existing lower-spec hardware from official support.