Microsoft has just graced us with the news that they are removing a spectacularly unnecessary extra process that has been dragging down app launches on Windows 11. So, that’s nice. The first lucky recipient of this newfound efficiency is Microsoft Edge, which will now respond to your clicks directly instead of summoning an additional temporary process, because obviously that was the only thing standing between us and speedy browsing.
This prime update, noted in the latest Release Preview, marks the inaugural step in a grand plan for Windows to make all apps great again. Of course, only if the developers decide to hop on this miraculous train.
After running this update on my gloriously outdated test PC with a whopping 4GB of RAM, the results were shockingly predictable: Edge opened noticeably faster when multitasking. Admittedly, it was still in the realm of "thankfully better" rather than "wow, this is like magic." But hey, small wins.
Microsoft pushed out KB5127936 on October 16, 2026, with a rollout so gradual you'd think they were launching a space probe rather than a software update. Not everyone will see it immediately, which is a refreshing reminder of the good old days of Windows updates taking forever to kick in.
The change basically cuts out the needless middleman—a process that opened and immediately handed your request off to Edge, only to then exit like it was never there. That’s right, no more waiting for that clunky, pointless step. Instead, your requests go straight to the running instance of Edge, which is quite the revolution. Microsoft claims this makes launching Edge less of a drag, particularly when your computer is already multitasking, as if we needed a reminder that it usually stumbles along under the weight of multiple apps.
Unfortunately, this lightning speed is only applicable when Edge is already running. If you need to summon Edge anew after a restart, well, good luck with that. Microsoft has not disclosed how many precious milliseconds this update actually saves, because who needs metrics when you have vague promises of efficiency?
Now, while this sounds like a step forward, actually getting all Windows apps to adopt this accelerative magic is another story entirely. For developers to grant their apps the privilege of skipping that middle process, they must navigate a bureaucratic labyrinth. Developers need to request an unlock token and use experimental APIs, which sounds less like progress and more like they’re still figuring out how to make this whole app launch thing work seamlessly.
Right now, we can only sit and wait—hoping that this bold new world of speed will expand to all of our beloved apps. So while smarter app launches are on the horizon, don’t expect Spotify or Discord to join the party anytime soon.
Until then, keep your fingers crossed that Microsoft manages to figure out what “speed” means, and maybe download an update or two while you're waiting.
