Ever encountered weird bugs or unexpected slowness on Windows 11 and wondered — why is this happening?
Have you ever opened the Start Menu in Windows 11 and suddenly your laptop or PC starts lagging? CPU usage can spike over 50% — just from trying to search for Notepad. Surprisingly, it’s not just because your PC specs are limited… it’s because the Windows 11 Start Menu is built using React Native. Yep, the mobile app framework created by Facebook.
Why Is It So Heavy?
React Native is known for being a powerful tool for creating mobile app UIs. But when used on a desktop — especially for a critical component like the Start Menu — it has consequences. As mentioned earlier, it consumes a lot of resources, especially CPU power. Every time you open the Start Menu, Windows re-renders React Native components, which requires significant computing power.
The “Recommended Apps” Feature That Makes It Worse
Another major contributor to the lag is the Recommended Apps feature in the Start Menu. This feature automatically shows apps or documents you might need. Unfortunately, it adds even more rendering load, making the Start Menu sluggish. The good news? You can turn it off.
Here’s how:
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Open Settings
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Go to Personalization > Start
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Disable the option “Show recommended apps”
Try opening the Start Menu again — it should be noticeably smoother.
So, Who’s to Blame?
Maybe you’ve been blaming your low RAM or budget laptop. But the lag you experience when opening the Start Menu partly stems from Windows 11’s architectural choice — using a mobile framework on a desktop system. And yes, that means Facebook has a role to play via React Native.
Conclusion & Tips
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Don’t immediately blame your RAM or PC specs if your Start Menu is lagging.
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Disable Recommended Apps, web search/Bing, or try a lighter Start Menu alternative like class="cursor-pointer" target="_new" rel="noopener" data-start="2115" data-end="2174">Open‑Shell.
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Keep your Windows updated — Microsoft may eventually release performance fixes.
Resources :
- https://winaero.com/windows-11-start-menu-revealed-as-resource-heavy-react-native-app-sparks-performance-concerns/
- https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44124688&
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