Overview
- Microsoft said on July 31 that it will deliver “memory optimisation for 8GB and above” and aims to roll the changes out by the end of 2026.
- The company has removed Learning Center pages that recommended 32GB of RAM and has begun selling Surface models with 8GB base memory, a shift traced to rising module costs and changing product mixes.
- Reporters and engineers point to WebView2, React-based UI code and Electron-style app wrappers as major causes of Windows 11’s high RAM use because those web-based components keep large browser engines and memory pools resident even when apps appear idle.
- Microsoft says engineers are testing specific fixes — a more efficient memory allocator, WinUI tuning and reductions in Chromium/WebView2 memory use — in preview channels but has not published numeric targets for RAM savings.
- Analysts link the work to a wider industry problem: AI data centers have driven up DRAM demand and prices, hurting PC shipments and raising costs for buyers with shortages likely to persist into 2027.