GoKawiilSomething to look forward to: Microsoft has been working on Low Latency Profile technology for months, and Windows 11 users should now start to see the benefits of the new feature. The latest Patch Tuesday update can seemingly improve performance across most apps and Win32 programs, rather than just the Start menu and other parts of the native Windows 11 interface.
Microsoft began rolling out the new Low Latency Profile (LLP) feature to all Windows 11 users earlier this week. The change is part of KB5121003, this month's Patch Tuesday update for all supported Windows editions, and should have a significant impact on performance across the Windows GUI, native OS apps, and even third-party software built using traditional Windows APIs such as Win32.
LLP uses a "race to sleep" design to quickly handle requests from applications that are about to launch. The feature briefly forces the CPU to boost its frequency, potentially making apps launch faster.
LLP technology debuted earlier this year, with Microsoft bringing the feature to Windows Explorer soon after. The August update expands LLP support to apps and third-party programs, potentially improving their launch times. Windows 11 has long faced criticism over its performance compared with Windows 10, but Microsoft is now trying to reverse course and win back users.
After installing the KB5121003 update, Windows Latest confirmed that LLP was indeed working as expected. Standard Windows apps such as Notepad and Calculator, web browsers like Chrome, and even the Epic Games Store took less time to open and render their window content.
Low Latency Profile is being delivered through the Controlled Feature Rollout system, which means it might not arrive on all Windows 11 machines at the same time. Impatient users can force-enable the feature through the ViveTool program.
Despite having a tangible positive impact on Windows 11 performance, Low Latency Profile has been criticized as a "lazy trick" designed to artificially inflate the speed of a poorly optimized OS. Microsoft VP Scott Hanselman has come out in support of the feature, explaining that Apple is doing essentially the same thing with macOS and that users are embracing it. Furthermore, race-to-sleep is a standard feature in Arm chips such as Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 and Nvidia's RTX Spark.