Laptop bloatware is still a big problem and Windows 11 needs to step up and sort it out

Date:
Sun, 30 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Description:
Preinstalled bloatware on our laptops is getting out of hand, but Windows 11 isn't helping.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter You can spend hours choosing
the best laptop , comparing processor options with the display and wondering how long the battery will last.

Then you switch it on and discover another part of the experience that rarely enters the buying decision: the manufacturers preinstalled software, often billed as tools to help optimize your device. Sometimes, they earn their
right to come pre-installed. The pre-installed software might be where you change performance mode or cap the battery charge, alongside model-specific settings Windows 11 simply doesnt offer. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

The strange part? How much bigger the role of pre-installed software (sometimes called 'bloatware') has become. A simple utility can now feel like another software layer sitting on top of Windows 11 , with launchers and user accounts jostling with the settings you actually want.

And because some of those controls are legitimately important, uninstalling the whole thing isnt always an option. You may like Microsoft vows to make Windows 11 run better with 8GB of RAM Here's how you stop LG monitors that
are reportedly installing bloatware Microsoft sabotages its fix Windows 11 drive with a nasty OneDrive misfire (Image credit: TechRadar) Windows 11 cant actually control everything on your Windows laptop For all the settings
tucked inside Windows 11, there are still plenty of things it cant manage on its own.

And this isnt just a gaming laptop quirk. On supported Asus models, MyASUS handles things such as Battery Care Mode and model-specific fan profiles that Windows 11 doesnt offer. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Gaming laptops simply take the idea much further.

Take the Alienware 16X Aurora . Alienware Command Center offers several performance settings, and in our testing, its 'Overdrive' mode pushed the
fans harder while making use of the laptops Cryo-Chamber cooling system.

None of that feels especially unreasonable. What to read next Redditor explains how Windows 11 can end up stripping out your GPU driver I want to ditch Windows 11 for Bazzite, but a few drawbacks are stopping me Windows
11's Weather app comes under fire for using too much RAM

Laptop makers know how their own hardware is designed to behave, and a dedicated utility gives them somewhere to offer controls that would otherwise be buried in the BIOS or unavailable altogether.

The problem starts when that useful little control panel begins acquiring ambitions of its own. Today's best Alienware 16X Aurora deals Alienware 16X Aurora 2,569 1,999 View Deal See all prices We check over 250 million
products every day for the best prices (Image credit: Asus) A settings menu somehow became an entire platform Many of these apps now go well beyond looking after the laptop itself.

Armoury Crate still gives Asus ROG owners useful controls over performance
and cooling, but it also has a user account system and optional content services alongside its device settings.

Lenovo s Legion Space pushes the idea further, putting thermal controls alongside a game store and its AI-powered Gaming Zone. On supported machines, HP s Omen Gaming Hub mixes fan and graphics controls with a game library and GeForce Now.

Taken one by one, most of this is easy to defend. Put it all in the same app, though, and the hardware settings start to feel like one part of a much
larger product.

If I open software to quieten the fans, for example, Im probably not also looking for a new game or a giveaway. (Image credit: MSI) The worst part is that you actually need it With ordinary pre-installed software, theres an obvious solution if you dont want it: uninstall it. Laptop software made by the manufacturers themselves is harder to shake because some settings can
make a real difference in how the machine behaves.

Our MSI Raider 16 Max HX review shows why this gets awkward. The laptop comes with a fair amount of bundled software, yet MSI Center itself gives you
useful access to performance presets and RGB controls.

Wiping out every manufacturer utility for a cleaner Windows 11 install can take useful features with it. However, some laptops do have alternatives.

G-Helper is an open-source option for Asus machines, offering access to performance and GPU modes, battery charge limits, and other hardware controls in a lightweight app. Its built-in performance modes use the same firmware presets as Armoury Crate.

You dont have to be comfortable swapping official software for a community-made utility to see the appeal. G-Helpers existence shows that granular laptop controls can live in a focused tool rather than a whole,
often bloated, ecosystem. (Image credit: Microsoft) Microsoft bears some responsibility too Some of this starts with gaps in Windows 11 itself. Smart Charging exists on compatible devices, for example, but theres no universal control for choosing a fixed charge limit Microsoft says each manufacturer implements the feature differently.

Microsoft has already shown what a more standardised approach can look like.

Dynamic Lighting is a good example: compatible RGB hardware can now be controlled directly through Windows 11, rather than relying entirely on separate manufacturer utilities.

Fan tuning and firmware are much more specific to each machine, so manufacturer software isnt going away.

But every common control Windows 11 can standardize is one less reason a laptop needs its own parallel settings software - and that would mean less bloat preinstalled on our devices. (Image credit: Future / James Holland) Laptop software needs to become boring again Maybe the real problem is that these apps have become something you even need to think about. A good pre-installed app should make the laptop easier to live with, then stay out
of the way until you need it again.

MSI Center at least gets some things right: its modular, so you can install only the features you want rather than loading everything by default.

Switch brands, though, and even familiar jobs can move somewhere completely different. A 'quiet' fan mode that takes seconds to find on one laptop might be buried under different terminology on the next.

Software like this probably deserves more consideration in laptop reviews, too. It wont rescue poor battery life or a bad keyboard, but if you rely on
it to change how the laptop behaves, it's part of the product you bought.

I dont want laptop makers to stop building these tools. I just want them to remember what theyre for: helping me use the laptop I already bought. The
best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best laptops 1. Best overall: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M4 2. Best budget: Asus Chromebook CM14 3. Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch 4. Best gaming: Razer Blade 16 5. Best for pros MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro) Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows-laptops/laptop-bloatware-is-still- a-big-problem-and-windows-11-needs-to-step-up-and-sort-it-out


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)