https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/05/11/microsoft-denies-windows-11-cpu-boost-trick-is-a-lazy-fix-says-apple-does-this-and-you-love-it/

Microsoft Denies Windows 11 CPU Boost Trick Is a Lazy Fix… "Apple Does This and You Love It?"

Recently, Windows Latest tested a hidden feature in Windows 11 called the Low Latency Profile, and demonstrated that it can make a dramatic difference on lower-end PCs.

It was confirmed that CPU clock speeds temporarily spike to their maximum for about 1–3 seconds when launching menus or apps, and even low-power virtual machines became noticeably faster and more responsive.

CPU usage spiking to 97% when launching Copilot

Despite this clear performance improvement, predictably critical reactions followed online.

Some users called it a "band-aid fix," arguing that instead of fundamentally optimizing the operating system, Microsoft is simply forcing a bloated system through by throwing CPU power at it.

For those unfamiliar, the Low Latency Profile is a feature hidden in the latest Windows 11 Insider builds that boosts the CPU to its maximum frequency for 1–3 seconds when high-priority interactions occur, such as launching apps, opening the Start menu, or opening context menus.

This feature is part of Microsoft's plan to improve Windows 11 performance, which also includes optimizing legacy code and migrating more UI elements to WinUI 3.

It currently runs automatically in the background, and is reported to have minimal impact on battery life or thermals. Since it is still in early testing, it is not yet clear when it will roll out to all PCs.

As criticism of this new speed-boost feature grew, Microsoft Vice President and Member of Technical Staff, the legendary Scott Hanselman, stepped in on X (formerly Twitter) to set the record straight.

His response effectively confirmed that Microsoft is actively developing the Low Latency Profile, while also providing a grounded explanation to critics who lacked a proper understanding of how modern computer systems work.

-The "Fake Performance" Conspiracy Theory Around the Low Latency Profile

The most common complaint online was that "boosting the CPU the moment you open the Start menu is a trick and proof of poor software engineering."

Hanselman pushed back firmly.

"Every modern operating system does this. macOS and Linux do too. This is not a 'trick' — it's the standard approach in modern systems for making apps feel fast by temporarily raising CPU speed and prioritizing interactive tasks to reduce latency."

As the criticism continued, he added a sharp and witty remark.

"There are real problems that need to be solved, and smart people are working to fix them.

But a lot of the negative reactions we're seeing come from people with no computer science background making intuition-based guesses."

Honestly, I found myself thinking something similar. Microsoft has had so many disappointing moves with Windows 11 that now, even when the company makes a genuinely positive improvement, some critics respond with baseless negative interpretations built on only the most basic knowledge.

But Scott wasn't only calling out people.

When Grok, the AI chatbot owned by Elon Musk, incorrectly claimed that "Linux desktop has no CPU spikes at all when opening menus," he directly refuted that as well.

Hanselman explained that Linux achieves fast responsiveness using the same principles — namely the kernel scheduler, CPU frequency governors, and modern CPU boost technologies like schedutil, which instantly wake faster cores the moment user input occurs.

And in the course of that explanation, he also addressed why Linux feels faster.

"The reason Linux menus may feel lighter is not because they avoid CPU boosts or background work — it's simply because there's less work to do and fewer integrated services. GNOME, KDE, and even Linux app launchers all see momentary CPU usage spikes, assign high priority to foreground tasks, and use the same modern boost behavior as any other modern operating system."

Of course, Linux is not Microsoft's biggest competitor.

When a user criticized Microsoft, suggesting that a feature like the Low Latency Profile wasn't worth naming and publicly announcing, Hanselman had the most fitting reply.

"When Apple does something like this, everyone loves it."

He tweeted this and invited Mac users to run the command sudo powermetrics in their terminal to see for themselves that the same CPU boost behavior happens in real time on macOS as well.

Of course, it is not hard to understand why this kind of criticism arises. And to some extent, Microsoft has brought it on itself.

But criticizing an already industry-standard technology simply because it was adopted by a company you dislike is plain hypocrisy.

In another fitting response, Hanselman said:

"If you don't know how something works, everything looks like a conspiracy."

-The "Race to Sleep" Concept and Why the Low Latency Profile Is a Better Fit for Snapdragon PCs

One of the best explanations for why the Low Latency Profile is a great idea came from Emily Young, a tech enthusiast who previously worked at Linus Tech Tips. She explained that completing a task at a high clock speed for a brief moment is generally far more efficient than running at a low clock speed for a longer period.

This concept is called "Race to Sleep." The idea is that by giving the processor a burst of maximum performance to finish a task immediately, the CPU can return to an ultra-low-power idle state much sooner — ultimately saving battery life in the process.

Interestingly, Hanselman confirmed that this feature will be particularly powerful in newer ARM architectures. When a user said, "This seems like it would be much more naturally accepted in ARM than x86," Hanselman agreed. He explained that processors capable of very fast power state transitions, such as the Snapdragon X Elite chip with Unified Memory Architecture (UMA), could show significantly improved responsiveness compared to traditional x86 chips.

Note that Apple's M-series chips also use UMA.

-But why was the Start Menu in Windows 95 faster without CPU boosting?

As someone who has used Windows 98, XP, Windows 7, 10, and currently 11, I can definitely relate to the feeling that older versions felt much faster. There are many users who share the same frustration when comparing Windows 11 to Windows 95, which was released in the year I was born.

In fact, many users have complained, "Windows XP or Windows 95 opened the Start Menu instantly even on much older hardware, so why do we need Turbo Boost now?"

Hanselman honestly acknowledged this. "You're right. It can be quite frustrating. Back then, there was simply less to do." He went on to explain, "The secret to getting faster as you scale is ultimately 'doing less'."

He added that the menus of the past were essentially just displaying a pre-rendered fixed layout panel and didn't have DPI scaling changes or any network requests.

In contrast, today's Windows 11 Start Menu constantly fetches recommended documents, recent files, cloud files, and web search results. However, Microsoft is also well aware that the Start Menu has become too heavy. Hanselman revealed that "heroic efforts are underway to make the Start Menu faster using modern technology."

-Is Low Latency Profile a good feature or a bad one?

If Microsoft had simply increased CPU speed and ignored Windows 11 optimization, I would have agreed with the criticism. However, that's not the case. If you've been following recent news about Windows 11, you've likely already heard that Microsoft is working on speed improvements and various optimizations throughout the operating system.

The key takeaway from Hanselman's computer science masterclass is this: Low Latency Profile is not an excuse to avoid optimizing Windows 11.

When users demanded, "Remove all unnecessary elements and optimize apps before adding CPU boosting," Hanselman simply replied, "Do both."

Microsoft is a massive company capable of handling multiple tasks simultaneously. Looking at the latest Insider builds, you can see that the development team is removing legacy code, optimizing File Explorer, and rebuilding core components like Run in native frameworks while making it faster than the existing legacy Run window.

Low Latency Profile is essentially a final bonus piece. The feature itself is already positive, and combined with the overall optimization of Windows 11, we can expect even greater results.

With properly optimized code and a modern CPU scheduler that prioritizes user interaction, Windows 11 may finally feel as fast as its predecessors.