Microsoft acknowledges how dire the RAM crisis is by promising to reduce Windows 11's 'memory footprint' on 8GB laptops — but it should have been this way from the start
A 'fast and responsive Windows experience' should have been the goal from day one, surely?
by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/darren-allan · TechRadarNews By Darren Allan Published 3 August 2026
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- Microsoft has summarized its campaign to fix Windows 11 so far
- The company also let us know what work is coming, including making the OS run better with 8GB of RAM
- That should have been the case from the start, though – and there's a missing piece of the puzzle to address as highlighted by Windows 11 users
Microsoft has made it clear that it's working to ensure that Windows 11 runs better on 8GB of system memory, as well as letting us know about other elements of the OS the company is going to fix as 2026 rolls on.
This was part of a blog post which is an update on the progress made with the campaign to fix Windows 11 that kicked off in March, summarizing all the work Microsoft has done – and there's been a lot of that, without a doubt. (I recently picked out the most important changes so far, if you're interested).
Microsoft also highlighted four new areas it's going to deal with during the rest of the year, and one of those is Windows 11's RAM usage.
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Microsoft wrote: "Memory optimization for 8GB and above. Reducing Windows memory footprint to deliver a fast and responsive Windows experience across the PCs customers use every day."
As well as a promise, this is an acknowledgement of the RAM crisis, which is preventing people from upgrading their memory, but more to the point, it's forcing laptop makers to go backwards in some respects, dropping RAM loadouts to 8GB for some models. (Whereas previously we'd been moving noticeably towards 16GB as a baseline).
As to what else Microsoft has on its fixing checklist, that includes making Windows 11's setup a faster and more efficient experience, as well as a better setup for families (including parental controls being more readily accessible). Finally, Microsoft says voice functionality is also being worked on, to make "voice more natural and fluid to interact across the apps you use every day".
Analysis: it's about time really – and there's another issue that needs to be addressed, too
Microsoft talked about RAM optimization and "lowering the baseline memory footprint for Windows" back when the campaign to fix its OS first began. So really, this is just a reassurance that this work is underway and should be arriving before the end of the year, and that it's specifically focused on ensuring 8GB is an acceptable amount of memory for running Windows 11.
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