AOT support

Microsoft has introduced enhancements to applications developed with the Windows App SDK, resulting in load times that can be up to 50% faster and reduced app sizes. These improvements are primarily due to Native Ahead-Of-Time (AOT) compilation. The Windows App SDK connects Win32 and UWP, providing developers access to modern APIs. Microsoft acknowledged performance issues in its applications, such as Photos and Phone Link, which have slow launch times. A temporary solution suggested is running the app in the background. Native AOT support improves startup times and reduces memory usage, but developers must integrate this feature. Preliminary tests show applications loading up to 50% faster and app packages being eight times smaller. Apps in self-contained mode have seen size reductions of up to 2x. The management of the Edge WebView2 SDK has been revised to minimize app package sizes, although this does not directly improve performance. Applications built with Windows App SDK 1.6 featuring Native AOT are expected to show better performance and smaller file sizes over time, but issues with slow launch times will remain until developers update their apps.