Microsoft is giving some default Windows 11 apps a significant performance boost, and you could soon feel the rewards

Microsoft promises some major performance improvements when it comes to Windows 11 applications, especially those based on Windows Application SDK technology, such as Photos For example.

This comes as a courtesy of a change Windows Latest seen Support document For the latest Windows App SDK preview release which mentions a new improvement in ‘Native AOT (Ahead of Time) compilation’ support.

Tests have shown that this feature can make apps load up to 50% faster and use less memory, saving valuable system resources. This means that apps based on the Windows App SDK, such as Photos and Phone Link in Windows 11, will generally run better and load faster. It will also benefit from app bundles being eight times smaller.

If you are wondering what exactly is Windows Application SDK, it is a collection of tools (SDK stands for Software Development Kit) that helps developers make Windows applications with the latest features while working with older Windows software frameworks (like Win32).

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Better performance for many applications without taking too long

However, it may take some time for these improvements to come to life, as we will have to wait for Microsoft to adopt WinAppSDK 1.6 with native AOT and for third-party developers to update their software (hopefully they do it soon).

When that happens, the results should be pretty eye-opening, at least according to Microsoft’s early tests. As Windows Latest has observed, almost all Applications built with Windows App SDK are affected by slow startup timesand slowdowns can occur while loading animations or even just interacting with the interface.

Overall, these improvements in the pipeline are great news for Windows 11 users, as apps will perform smoother and load faster across the board. As mentioned, these updates may take some time to roll out, but the benefits of native AOT support will eventually come to Photos and Telephone Connection.