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Edge is faster on Windows with Accelerated App Launches

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The new integration improves launch speeds by up to 33% when the system is under heavy load, while delivering a 15% boost for typical users. It functions whenever the browser is visibly open or operating in the background via Startup Boost. Microsoft is contributing this capability to the open-source Chromium project and plans to expand the mechanism to cover workflows like opening PDF files.

Key points

  • Direct process notification replaces legacy intermediary steps when launching apps from t…: Direct process notification replaces legacy intermediary steps when launching apps from the Start menu, Taskbar, or default links.
  • The acceleration framework is being contributed to open-source Chromium so competing brow…: The acceleration framework is being contributed to open-source Chromium so competing browsers can adopt the same architecture.
  • Third-party Windows developers can register their own applications to take advantage of t…: Third-party Windows developers can register their own applications to take advantage of the accelerated launch system.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

We’re excited to announce that Edge is the first browser to support accelerated app launches on Windows, delivering a faster and more consistent browser launch experience.

With accelerated app launch, most Windows users will see a 15% launch speed improvement, with wins of up to 33% under heavy multitasking!1 That means you can start browsing faster.

This has already rolled out starting with Microsoft Edge version 150 and later and is supported on Windows 11, versions 25H2, 26H2, 26H1 with the October 2026 non-security update (KB5127936) or later.

How does this work?

The Edge and Windows team partnered to bring this new Windows accelerated app launch capability to Edge users quickly. Edge, like many modern applications on Windows, is often already running. A visible Edge window might already be open, or Edge might already be running in the background through features such as Startup Boost.

Without accelerated app launches on Windows, when you click on a link or start Edge from the taskbar, Windows must first determine if Edge is already running. To do that, Windows starts an intermediary process…

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