Microsoft has shared a big batch of Windows 11 changes, and the headline is speed. The company says Windows 11 is now up to 20% more responsive, with smarter memory use that helps most on PCs with 8GB of RAM. The same announcement brings actions in taskbar Search, Advanced Shader Delivery for faster game loading, and a completely new Photos app. Search and Photos are reaching Windows Insiders first, with a wider rollout planned for later this year.
Windows 11 gets up to 20% more responsive
In its announcement on the Windows Experience Blog, Microsoft’s Navjot Virk says the company has worked across the platform, the shell and everyday apps to make Windows feel faster. The result, Microsoft says, is a Windows experience that is “up to 20% more responsive,” starting from boot and reaching Start, File Explorer, Search, Snipping Tool, Microsoft 365, Edge and more.
Where the number comes from: Microsoft’s footnote says it measured response times for Search, Start, right-click, Settings, Snipping Tool and File Explorer on Windows 11 build 26300.9550, compared with build 26200.7628. As always, real results depend on your hardware and how you use your PC.
Smarter memory on 8GB PCs
Much of the gain comes from better memory management. Two changes stand out:
- More data stays in RAM: Windows can now keep up to 2GB more of your active data in memory instead of moving it to slower storage. That helps when you have lots of apps or browser tabs open.
- Widgets load on demand: On PCs with 8GB of memory or less, Widgets load only when you open them. Microsoft says this frees more than 200MB for your apps.
As The Verge notes, this follows Microsoft’s plan from earlier this year to fix Windows 11 with a focus on performance and reliability. Who benefits most: budget laptops and older 8GB machines, which are exactly the PCs that tend to slow down when memory fills up.
The same post lists other quality fixes, including a taskbar you can move to the top or sides of the screen, quieter Widgets, fewer update restarts, faster Windows Hello sign-in, and more reliable Bluetooth with AirPods pairing that is up to 15 seconds faster.
Taskbar Search now lets you act, not just find
Windows Search is getting a new interface and a new trick called actions. Instead of only pointing you somewhere, search results can now finish the job:
- Settings in one step: Search for dark mode or night light and change it right there, without opening Settings.
- Window management: Minimize or arrange open windows from search.
- Coming soon: Interacting with your connected phone from search.
The new Search is available to Windows Insiders today and will roll out more broadly later this year. We covered the earlier groundwork in our look at the faster WinUI 3 Windows Search update.
Advanced Shader Delivery: games load in seconds
If you have ever waited for a game to “compile shaders” before you can play, this one is for you. Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) sends precompiled shaders for supported titles, so Microsoft says games load “in seconds instead of minutes.” Forza Horizon 6 and Gears of War: E-Day are named as supported games.
What to do: install the Xbox PC app before you download a supported game, and keep your graphics drivers up to date. Microsoft didn’t share a full list of supported games in the main post.
The new Photos app: the biggest change in the batch
Microsoft gave Photos its own deep-dive post, written by Giorgio Sardo, and it is easy to see why. This is a real rebuild with three parts: a new Gallery, a new native Editor and a redesigned Viewer.
One Gallery for PC, OneDrive and iCloud
The new Gallery pulls photos and videos from your PC, OneDrive and Apple iCloud into one place. You can browse by date, find people with the People view, filter by where photos are stored and who is in them, and build Albums to share.
- Describe what you want: Natural-language search lets you type something like “sunset at the beach” instead of hunting by filename or date.
- Moments: For OneDrive photos, Moments groups related pictures into named memories and creates a seasonal recap you can play as a slideshow or save as a video.
- No OneDrive required: You can keep using Photos without signing in to OneDrive for local and iCloud photos. iCloud photos come in through Apple’s iCloud for Windows app.
- Works offline: Photos stored on your device stay available without a connection.
A rebuilt Editor with object removal and Relight
The Editor has been rebuilt from scratch with WinUI 3 and loads 25% faster, according to Microsoft. Tools are grouped into four sections: Crop, Enhance, Repair and Stylize.
- Remove objects: In Repair, circle or brush over something distracting to remove it. Microsoft says an improved AI model gives better results and faster processing.
- Relight: In Enhance, place up to three light sources, pick their colors and set a focus point they all aim at. Presets like golden hour work in one click. Microsoft is expanding Relight to all Windows 11 devices.
- iPhone friendly: HDR is preserved while editing, and HEIC and WebP files can be edited and saved in their original format.
- Ready for social: New crop templates match popular social network formats.
A faster, cleaner Viewer
The Viewer starts 15% faster on average and up to 30% faster for HEIC images, Microsoft says. It has a cleaner layout, arrow-key navigation, better HDR viewing and support for more file types, including SVG. An info button shows the file name, date, camera details, a map when location data exists, and a color histogram. Opening an image from File Explorer now launches this lightweight Viewer.
At a glance: what’s new and where it stands
Also in this release: free games, phone features and more
- 25 free Xbox PC games: To mark 25 years of Xbox, eligible Windows 11 PCs bought from participating US retailers between November 2 and December 31, 2026 can claim a bundle of 25 games, including Skyrim Special Edition, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Microsoft says some eligible devices can’t run every game in the bundle.
- Your phone in Start: Preview messages and notifications from an Android phone or iPhone in Start, reply in a focused chat window, and with a supported Android phone, open phone apps in resizable windows and browse phone files in File Explorer.
- Microsoft Ink Canvas: A pen and touch canvas for sketches and notes that can use Copilot to turn them into text or visuals (AI features need a Microsoft 365 subscription). It comes preinstalled on the Surface Pro 12-inch (2nd Edition) and is in the Microsoft Store for other supported devices.
- Advanced haptics: Supported mice such as the Surface Mouse (2nd Edition) and Logitech MX Master 4 give small tactile cues when you snap windows or align objects in apps like PowerPoint.
- Accessibility: Screen Tint color overlays, per-display Magnifier zoom, Narrator math reading and plug-and-play support for HID braille displays during Windows setup.
How to get it and what to do now
- Want it early? Join the Windows Insider Program in Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program. Search and Photos are reaching Insiders first. Keep an eye on our recent Insider build coverage for which builds carry what.
- Prefer stability? Stay on your current channel. Microsoft says Search and the new Photos will reach all Windows 11 users later this year, and the performance work is already starting to roll out broadly.
- Gamers: Install the Xbox PC app before downloading a supported game and update your GPU drivers to get ASD.
- iPhone users: Set up Photos in iCloud for Windows so your iCloud library shows up in the new Gallery.
- Send feedback: Press Win + F and go to Apps > Photos to report issues with the new app.
For the bigger picture of where Windows 11 is heading this year, see our guide to Windows 11 26H2 and how to get it.
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