Windows 11 is gaining weight. The operating system contains many more bits and bytes than its predecessor and continues to improve after every update.
Windows 11 is a hungry operating system. Its footprint on your system grows with every release. Compared to Windows 10 22H1, the installation file is about 7.6 percent larger. That translates to an ISO of 6.24 GB for Microsoft’s latest operating system, versus 5.8 GB for the latest version of Windows 10.
Windows 10 itself has also grown. You could once install that operating system via a file of less than 4 GB. Yet growth remains significant. A larger installation file also correlates with more space taken up on your computer.
More, and often better
The cause lies in new and updated functions. Consider the updated Explorer, or even the expansion of Notepad’s functionality. Such applications all belong to Windows and therefore take up installation space. Microsoft is trying to keep the weight of Windows 11 within limits by moving less relevant applications to the Store. On the other hand, Microsoft also likes to expand its OS with integrations that few people want, such as standard installed taskbar widgets and everything Bing.
In itself it is not strange that software becomes larger over the years. New functions emerge in tandem with more powerful systems with more computing power and disk space. The more cumbersome the OS, the less old and light systems can handle it. In this way, Microsoft does a little advertising for Linux (2.7 GB for Ubuntu 20.4) and ChromeOS (1.21 GB).
