- Microsoft boasts the benefits of Windows 11 (again)
- It claims Windows 11 PCs can be ‘up to 2.3x faster’ than Windows 10 machines
- However, this comparison was made to run the operating systems on different hardware and it is very misleading as a result
It has probably not escaped from your attention that Microsoft is busy trying to get people to switch from Windows 10 to Windows 11, what about the older operating system is nearing its end of life.
In a recent blog post (noted by Toms Hardware), Microsoft has again expanded the virtues of Windows 11 (and Copilot+ PCs), where Yusuf Mehdi (as leading consumer marketing), which presents us with a number of reasons why the newer OS is the place to be.
The post affects the benefits of Windows 11, including accessibility features, AI, security and performance, and it is the latter we focus on here. Specifically, the following is that Mehdi is doing: “Windows 11 PCs are up to 2.3x faster than Windows 10 PCs.”
This statement comes with a footnote attached – actually an important warning that I come back to, but the broad suggestion here is very clear: Windows 11 is very Faster than Windows 10. But is it true or fair to say? No, it’s not; So let’s explore why, and consider in and outs into what Microsoft claims here.
What Microsoft claims
Microsoft claims that Windows 11 is “faster and more efficient” and that compared to Windows 10, it delivers faster updates, faster wake-from-sleep times (for laptops) and generally better performance on the desktop. Then comes the central claim that Windows 11 computers are “up to 2.3x faster” than older Windows 10 machines.
Note the use of “older” there, and this is where footnote comes into play. Scan down to it and you will see that Microsoft says it bases this estimate on a geekbench 6 multi-core (CPU) benchmark and that’s all we are told in this post.
However, we are presented with a URL taken at the end of the footnote, which is actually the source of this benchmark – a series of ‘Windows 11 PC Performance Details’ embedding within Microsoft’s Learn Portal.
Here we learn that these comparative tests did not run on the same PC but different hardware. In short, Windows 10 PCs that ran Geekbench-Benchmark were older machines with Intel Core 6., 8th and 10. Generic processors, while the Windows 11 devices used Intel Core 12 and 13th CPUs. As Microsoft further notes: “Performance varies markedly by device and with settings, use and other factors.”
Why this is very misleading
There is a big problem here, which is clear to see-they much older PCs (with some cases 6. GEN CPUs) will definitely be far slower than a modern machine with a 12 or 13. Gen Intel chip.
What Microsoft should have done is run Windows 10 -Benchmark on a PC, then installed Windows 11 on the same hardware and compared the results. It would be equal conditions – what we see here definitely not.
In short, “up to 2.3x faster” claim is very misleading because it mostly shows the difference between the hardware components involved, not the software (the operating systems themselves). Therefore, the Bay of Performance seems so big and eyebrow breeding.
It’s also a weak argument to just quote a single benchmark (Geekbench) anyway. Preferably, we should have a few performance tests on average (or a whole package of them ideally). Otherwise, the suspicion is that the benchmark has been cherry picked to make marketing look as convincing as possible.
Of course, this is a relatively minor problem compared to the basic problem here to compare very different PCs running Windows 10 versus computers with Windows 11 installed.
Okay, so Microsoft could claim that this is meant only as an illustrative performance metrics and it specifies that Windows 11 PCs can be “up to” more than twice as fast as Windows 10 machines – so technically it’s true. In most cases, however, they will not be anywhere near it; And as already mentioned, not having an apple-to-apples performance comparison here just makes the claim so misleading.
What I am also unhappy with is the way footnote is written. It’s designed, so even if the reader looks at it – and many probably not – they just want to think “oh, it’s geekbonch” and probably leave it by it, maybe not examine the specified URL (with the actual test information). In particular, the URL is not hyperlink, so it’s easy to miss and you actually need to highlight and copy it to go over to the Learn Portal to see the story behind us comparison. It all feels a little smoke-and-mirror to say the least.
The judgment
Marketing is of course marketing, and as noted, the statement is technically true -a Windows 11 -PC can undoubtedly be more than twice as fast as a Windows 10 -PC. Especially if the Windows 10 computer is pulled out of your ceiling, the dust got blown off and then runs a benchmark, which is subsequently compared to a relatively new Windows 11 PC.
Come on Microsoft – you can do better than this. Frankly, the cunning way is this particular part of Mehdi’s blog post has been interconnected smells of desperation in the effort to persuade people to upgrade to Windows 11.
What makes this worse is that Windows 11, Windows 11, actually feels a bit snaps than Windows 10 in general everyday performance (though I realize it’s a very subjective thing, and not everyone’s experience to go by some of the complaints I see online).
In short, I think Microsoft has a point to boast of here with regard to Windows 11 offers something Peppier performance and being more responsive in some respects-but it is spoiled some of this positivity with an over-the-top marketing effort here.
