- Windows 11 is getting a new 'Low Latency Profile' feature
- It gives the CPU a brief boost to help apps and menus load faster
- It's just rumored, and still in early testing, but we're told that we shouldn't worry about it having a detrimental impact on laptop battery life
Windows 11 is getting a feature designed to speed up performance when the system tackles spikes of demanding activity — like the workload created when opening an app — by putting the accelerator to the floor with the CPU briefly.
Windows Central reports that this is apparently part of the so-called Windows K2 project, otherwise known as 'The big drive for this year to fix everything that's wrong with Windows 11'.
There's a good deal of focus on shoring up performance with K2, and according to leaker Zac Bowden, the new processor-boosting trick is already in testing with the Windows Insider Program. Indeed, Windows Latest has already enabled it (using a configuration utility) and tried out the functionality.
Sources inside Microsoft told Bowden the feature is known as the 'Low Latency Profile' and it kicks in, boosting up the frequency of the CPU briefly – from between one to three seconds – while performing bigger operations. That includes firing up an app, or opening parts of the Windows 11 interface, for example the likes of the Start menu or right-click context menus.
The result is up to 40% quicker launch times for Microsoft's apps such as Edge and Outlook, and menus are up to 70% faster to load, we're told. Third-party (non-Microsoft) apps running in Windows 11 should get the benefit of this low-latency functionality, too.
Based on Windows Latest's testing, it seems that the feature does indeed provide an impressive boost to loading speeds.
Low Latency Profile will work seamlessly in the background, coming to life automatically when needed. It isn't yet clear if there will be a switch to enable or disable it, but that isn't the case currently.
Analysis: laptop worries and general skepticism
Windows 11 seemingly feels a lot more responsive with the new Low Latency Profile in place, and based on those claimed percentages for speed-ups — albeit they are best-case scenarios — I'd imagine it would do. Menus opening at not far off twice the speed is the kind of performance tweak Windows 11 could really do with, and it should make the overall experience of using the OS a good deal more pleasant.
Presumably File Explorer will get the benefit of this — as technically it's an 'app' for Windows 11, or a process that powers your desktop folders — but it isn't mentioned (by Bowden, or Windows Latest), so that isn't clear. Mind you, Microsoft is already doing a whole lot of work to speed up File Explorer anyway.
An obvious worry is the effect of these brief CPU boosts on battery longevity in the case of Windows 11 laptops, but Bowden notes that the sources who leaked the details say that any impact on battery life is 'minimal'.
This is still in early testing, Bowden reminds us, and so the concept could change considerably before it comes to fruition. In any case, it clearly illustrates that Microsoft is thinking in some depth about how Windows 11 can be made a good deal more performant in ways that will be meaningfully felt in everyday usage.
One thing I would caution is that if folks are concerned about the impact on thermals that this feature may have on an older laptop with, say, an ailing cooling system, it seems like a sensible idea to include that switch to turn off Low Latency Profile.
Skeptics also remain on the subject of how good this feature might actually turn out to be. As one Redditor observed: "'I'll only believe when I see the results, but I really hope it is true, I miss the old Microsoft."
We all hope it's true, let's face it — and it's looking promising based on the early testing conducted by Windows Latest. (Although granted, we need to take that with some seasoning, as it was a limited use of the feature in a very early state, inside a virtual machine).
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