A new report has found that the Weather app built into Windows 11 uses roughly five times as much system memory as Apple’s equivalent app on macOS, even though the Windows version still displays advertisements to users. The comparison, published August 9, 2026 by Windows Latest, has reignited long-running frustration over the resource footprint and monetization of Microsoft’s default apps.
What the testing found
According to the report, the Windows 11 Weather app, officially called MSN Weather, consumed significantly more RAM in the background than the native Weather app Apple ships with macOS. Both apps perform essentially the same core task: pulling forecast data and displaying temperature, conditions, and multi-day outlooks. Windows Latest noted that despite the heavier memory usage, the Windows app is also the one still carrying advertising, while Apple’s version remains ad-free.
The outlet has published similar comparisons before, often highlighting that Microsoft’s built-in apps, including Widgets, Start menu search, and File Explorer, tend to run heavier than comparable tools on competing platforms or than the same apps did in earlier Windows versions. The Weather app finding follows that pattern, adding another data point to complaints that Windows 11’s stock software has grown more resource-intensive over time without corresponding gains in functionality.
Why memory usage matters
For most modern PCs with 16GB of RAM or more, a background weather widget consuming extra memory is unlikely to cause a noticeable slowdown on its own. But critics argue the issue is less about raw performance and more about what it signals: default, unremovable-by-default software that is bloated relative to its purpose, on a platform where users already have limited control over pre-installed apps and background services.
Machines with lower memory configurations, including budget laptops and older hardware still running Windows 11, are more likely to feel the effect of multiple lightweight-seeming apps quietly consuming disproportionate resources in the background. Windows 11’s minimum supported configuration starts at 4GB of RAM, a tier where every additional hundred megabytes used by a weather widget is more likely to compete with other running processes.
The ad question
The presence of ads in the Windows 11 Weather app has been a recurring point of criticism since Microsoft began testing sponsored content and news carousels within the app several years ago. Microsoft has defended the inclusion of ads and news content as part of the broader Windows Widgets and MSN ecosystem, which also powers the taskbar weather widget and news feed. Apple’s Weather app, by contrast, has never carried third-party advertising, positioning it as a simpler, purely functional utility.
The combination highlighted in the new report, heavier memory usage paired with continued advertising, is likely to feed into broader criticism that Windows 11’s included software prioritizes engagement and monetization features over efficiency. Microsoft has not issued a public response to the specific memory comparison as of publication.
Part of a larger pattern
The Weather app finding lands amid ongoing scrutiny of how much system overhead comes bundled into Windows 11 by default. Features like Copilot integration, widgets, and various background services have each drawn criticism for adding resource consumption that some users say they never asked for and cannot fully disable. Windows Latest and other outlets have previously flagged similar overhead in File Explorer search indexing and Start menu suggestions.
Users can typically uninstall or disable the Weather app and widget through Windows 11 settings, though some related background services tied to the Widgets platform have proven harder to fully remove.
For users looking to reduce the impact, Windows 11 allows the Weather app to be uninstalled directly, and the taskbar widgets button, which also relies on the same underlying service, can be turned off from taskbar settings. Doing so removes both the memory overhead and the ad exposure, though it also disables the quick-glance forecast many users rely on.
What it means for users
The report is unlikely to prompt an immediate fix from Microsoft, but it adds measurable evidence to a consumer complaint that has largely been anecdotal until now. As PCs increasingly ship with AI-oriented features that themselves demand more memory and processing power, the efficiency of even small, everyday utilities like a weather widget is drawing more attention than it might have a few years ago.
For now, the comparison serves as a reminder that not all default software is created equal. Two apps that look and function almost identically to the average user can carry very different costs under the hood, and on Windows 11, that cost currently includes both extra memory and ads that macOS users do not see.
