Windows 11 Weather App Reportedly Uses Over 1GB of RAM, Raising Efficiency Concerns
Microsoft has been trying to make Windows 11 faster, lighter, and more responsive, especially on PCs with limited memory. However, one of the operating system’s built-in apps may be doing the opposite. Recent testing suggests that the Windows 11 Weather app can use more than 1GB of RAM while performing basic tasks such as showing a forecast.
According to testing reported by Windows Latest, the Weather app exceeded 1.2GB of memory usage while simply displaying weather information. There was no heavy interaction involved, making the figure surprising for an app with a relatively simple purpose.
Additional observations from Wccftech showed similar results. The app reportedly starts at around 1GB of RAM usage, then drops to roughly 500MB to 600MB when idle. However, during simple actions such as zooming, scrolling, or moving around the interface, memory consumption can rise again to around 1.5GB or even 1.6GB.
That may not sound dramatic on a high-end desktop with 32GB or 64GB of RAM, but it can matter a lot on budget laptops and entry-level PCs. On a Windows 11 device with 8GB of RAM, the Weather app alone could take up close to 20% of the system’s available memory. That kind of usage can increase memory pressure and may cause Windows to rely more heavily on the page file, potentially making the system feel slower.
The issue appears to be tied to how the Windows 11 Weather app is built. Rather than being a fully native Windows application, it is essentially based on Microsoft’s MSN Weather experience and runs through the WebView2 framework. Because WebView2 relies on Chromium-based processes, opening the Weather app can result in several background subprocesses appearing in Task Manager.
This approach allows Microsoft to deliver web-based content inside a Windows app, but it can also come with a larger memory footprint compared with a lightweight native application. In this case, that footprint appears unusually high for something as basic as checking the weather forecast.
The contrast becomes even clearer when compared with Apple’s built-in Weather app on macOS, which reportedly uses less than 250MB of RAM under similar conditions. That makes Microsoft’s Weather app several times heavier in memory usage, despite both apps serving the same core function.
Another point of criticism is the presence of advertising inside the Windows 11 Weather app. Sponsored content is reportedly placed within the forecast feed and can appear alongside regular weather cards. While Microsoft pulls weather data from several providers, including Foreca, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, and regional meteorological services, the addition of ads inside a default Windows application has frustrated some users.
The findings come at an awkward time for Microsoft. The company has repeatedly emphasized its efforts to improve Windows 11 performance, particularly for lower-end hardware. Microsoft has also been updating built-in apps and discussing a stronger focus on native Windows development in the future.
A Microsoft executive has previously indicated that the company wants to create more fully native Windows apps going forward. However, it is not yet clear whether apps tied to MSN services, such as Weather, will eventually be rebuilt with a more efficient native interface.
For now, users who rarely check the forecast through the built-in Weather app may want to avoid keeping it open in the background, especially on PCs with 8GB or 16GB of RAM. While the app’s high memory usage may not cause issues on powerful systems, it could contribute to sluggish performance on more affordable Windows 11 laptops and desktops.
The situation highlights a larger concern with modern Windows apps: convenience and web integration can come at the cost of system resources. For an operating system that Microsoft wants to make faster and more efficient, a built-in weather app consuming more than 1GB of RAM is likely to keep drawing attention.
