Oh, but it absolutely is true. Microsoft really did decide to use React Native for parts of the Windows 11 Start menu. They're also using it in sections of the Settings app.
The technical reality is even more absurd than the meme suggests. Microsoft is currently maintaining eight different UI frameworks for Windows, including their own .NET MAUI and WinUI 3 that were specifically built for their OS. Yet somehow they thought, "You know what this native operating system needs? A JavaScript framework originally designed for mobile apps."
The CPU usage spikes aren't necessarily from React Native itself being particularly heavyweight, but rather from the fundamental architectural choice of running a web-based rendering engine for core system UI elements. Every time you click Start, you're essentially launching a mini web application just to display a menu.
What's particularly galling is that Microsoft has acknowledged WinUI's performance issues for years, to the point where they recommend their partners use the older WPF for performance-critical applications. So instead of fixing their native framework, they decided to add another layer of abstraction.
This is what happens when corporate development teams prioritize "developer experience" and trendy frameworks over system efficiency. Richard Stallman's expression in that image perfectly captures the appropriate level of technical horror at this decision.
The old world built operating systems. The new world builds web apps that pretend to be operating systems.
I have a Windows laptop for the first time in well over a decade for a project I am working on. Even though it is overpowered (i7, 64gb ram), and it is currently "idle", the cooling fans are working overtime because the damn OS is always busy doing some random shit when "idle". This is AFTER I ran a debloat script. It was near impossible to use before then.
EDIT: I found the cause of the fanning issue and different behavior between Win 11 and Linux (Pop!_OS). Even though the laptop comes with an Nvidia RTX 4000 series GPU, Windows 11 set the global default GPU to be the integrated graphics (Intel UHD). The same laptop under Pop!_OS automatically set the default GPU to Nvidia. As soon as I dug this up and switched the settings to Nvidia, the laptop stopped fanning full speed nonstop.
it needs to check your license and onedrive files for DRM compliance. every click
Oops I pit my mouse in the bottom left now its loading 50 web pages filled with ads under the guise of being a widget
I had to test it. That is wild.
And it's a terrible app, at that. No organization, just either some random application links, or one giant list with no categories or organization past alphabetical.
Remember when discord changed its android app to use react native?
They fixed most of it by now but god it was terrible back then
I can't reproduce the CPU spike, but Windows is overall slower. Strangely, the calendar on the taskbar takes a long time to load the first time that I open it.
This explains so much
Switched to windows 10 a month or so ago just for ease of use with video games and mods. Man does windows suck ass. Wants to open random web pages, use dumb AI tools and give me useless info on every empty inch of screen space . At the end of the day it works but quality of life is low.
Every Facebook product is cancer including react
I'm no programmer nor coder or such, I call myself advanced user only.
If having part of an app (I refer app as OS here, and start menu as part of an OS) to spike CPU/memory usage, does that means that part is not being used without being called? and leaves resources fully free? Sure big spike happen when the sub-part is called, but without being called?
IF part of an app is not even loaded while not used, isn't that actually good? I mean, depends how often that app part is called and have to load from the void.
I imagine that could be better than having unused part loaded all the time, wasting the resources?
Also, I totally skip part of poorly coded compared to old smooth and optimized code.
At least my wallpaper transitions will stay smooth.
If its react native it shouldn't slow down. It still does tho, mst be the 30% vibe code.
ExplorerPatcher https://github.com/valinet
Been using it for a few months, quite happy. Does not seem to spike CPU with my settings
My pc "spikes" from 6% to 11% but was only noticeable when I raised the update speed to high
Is that the spiking, and are other people seeing more?
No "should we." Probably no "can we." Just a "hey AI, how do I..."
