Windows 11 has a new preview build with a change to boost performance
It’s just for Edge to begin with, and it means that if the browser is already running, new instances of the app will launch faster
Microsoft’s plan is to introduce this to a wider range of Windows 11 apps
Microsoft is making another move to tune up Windows 11 so it launches some apps more swiftly, although this is just in testing for now. Windows Latest noticed that the latest build in the Release Preview channel (the final stage of testing) applies a change to bring in "accelerated app launches" for Microsoft Edge in a certain scenario. Namely that when Edge is already running, further instances of the web browser being opened will appear at a faster speed. Microsoft tells us that : "When you select a link or open Edge from the taskbar or Start menu while Edge is already running in the background, Windows now routes your request directly to the running instance instead of first starting an extra, temporary process." This shortened launch path for when Edge is ‘warm’ (already running) means a considerably faster launch time, as Windows Latest verified. The tech site also points out that only the first ‘cold’ start of the browser will be slower (with the longer launch process), as even if you open Edge, then close it, if you run the app again, it’s still ‘warm’ as the relevant processes have spun up in the background. Analysis: broader benefits, but why did all this take so long? (Image credit: Microsoft) If you don’t use Edge (and that’s doubtless most of you), then you might be thinking: what’s the big deal anyway? Well, this is a first step in testing towards a grander goal, namely a "broader Windows capability that any app can adopt to speed up its own launches" as Microsoft explains in the preview build’s release notes. Eventually, we could see multiple apps benefiting from what’s an apparently considerable performance boost when launching, assuming that they’re already running (and warmed up)…