The built-in Weather app in Windows 11 is drawing heavy criticism for its excessive memory footprint, with tests showing it can consume over 1.2 GB of RAM just to display basic forecasts. For users on entry-level PCs with 8 GB of RAM, this single utility can occupy nearly 20% of the system's total memory, potentially triggering heavy reliance on page files and reducing overall system responsiveness.

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A web wrapper masquerading as a native app

The root of the problem lies in its architecture: rather than being a fully native Windows application, it is essentially an MSN Weather web app built on the WebView2 framework. This approach spawns multiple Chromium-based subprocesses, leading to the bloated RAM usage. Reports indicate that memory consumption typically starts around 1 GB, dips to 500-600 MB when idle, and can spike to 1.5-1.6 GB during basic interactions like zooming or navigating the interface.

Windows 11's built-in Weather app wastes more than 1 GB of RAM ... — https://www.notebookcheck.net/Windows-11-s-built-in-Weather-app-wastes-more-than-1-GB-of-RAM.1364205.0.html

The macOS efficiency gap

The performance disparity is stark when compared to Apple's ecosystem. The native Weather app on macOS reportedly uses less than 250 MB of RAM under similar conditions, making it roughly five times more efficient. Furthermore, while Microsoft's implementation integrates sponsored content directly into the forecast feed—leading some critics to label it as "adware"—the macOS version remains lean and ad-free.

Strategic contradictions at Microsoft

These findings contradict Microsoft's public commitment to improving Windows 11 efficiency for lower-end hardware. While executive Rudy Huyn has mentioned plans to develop more fully native applications, it remains unclear if MSN-branded tools will ever be rebuilt using WinUI. This inefficiency highlights a recurring tension in Microsoft's software strategy, where user experience often clashes with the push for integrated advertising and web-based wrappers.

Global hardware implications

For the global market of budget laptops and corporate workstations, this memory leak is a significant issue. On machines with 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM, the overhead created by a simple weather utility can lead to noticeable stuttering in other professional applications, undermining the goal of making Windows 11 viable for a wider range of hardware specifications.