Windows 11 Weather App Consumes Excessive System Memory

Microsoft faces criticism for its built-in Windows 11 Weather app, which consumes excessive system memory and contradicts company goals to optimize the operating system for PCs with 8GB of RAM. Tests show the app typically starts at 1GB of RAM usage, dropping to 500–600MB when idle and spiking up to 1.6GB during basic interactions.

On an 8GB system, the app can occupy nearly 20% of total memory, potentially forcing the OS to use the SSD page file and causing system sluggishness. This footprint is approximately five times that of the native macOS Weather app, which reportedly uses less than 250MB. The inefficiency stems from the app being a web-based MSN application built on the WebView2 framework, which triggers multiple Chromium-based processes, rather than being a fully native Windows application.

Critics also highlight the presence of embedded third-party advertisements within the forecast feed. While Microsoft is reportedly working on performance improvements to reduce memory footprints on lower-end hardware, the Weather app remains a primary example of system bloat. Executive Rudy Huyn stated the company intends to develop more fully native Windows applications in the future.