Windows 11 is poised to reintroduce a familiar feature with its upcoming update: Calendar Agendas will make a return to the Notification Center. This functionality was notably absent following the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 in 2021. The new Agenda view, based on Outlook, will be implemented as a WebView2 component, which has sparked discussions about its reliance on Edge resources.
Currently, Microsoft is in the testing phase for the Agenda view within Windows 11 preview builds. Users have reported mixed results, with the feature attempting to load Outlook meeting details inside a WebView2 shell. Observations from early users indicate that activating the Agenda view leads to a noticeable increase in “WebView2” processes. For instance, when one user enabled the Agenda view and accessed the Notification Center, they recorded a significant surge in CPU usage, with the “Windows Shell Experience Host” process jumping from an idle state to consuming between 6% and 20% of CPU resources.
Upon further inspection in the Task Manager, it becomes evident that the “Windows Shell Experience Host” is accompanied by multiple WebView2 processes. Within this host, components such as “GPU Process,” “Renderer,” and “Utility” are standard elements utilized by Microsoft Edge WebView2 to render the interface. When the Notification Center is activated, these processes spring to life, causing the memory footprint of the main host to escalate dramatically from approximately 1MB to over 130MB as the Agenda view is rendered.
However, once the Notification Center is closed, Windows takes steps to conserve resources by putting these components back into a dormant state. Reports indicate that items like “GPU Process” and “Utility” quickly transition to a “Suspended” status, effectively halting their CPU and RAM usage. This means that WebView2 is only engaged when the Notification Center is open and the Agenda view is active, with memory usage plummeting to nearly zero upon closure.
Despite the mixed feelings surrounding WebView2, particularly regarding its native feel on Windows 11, the upcoming Calendar Agenda view is expected to mirror the functionality users appreciated in Windows 10. The interface remains clean, presenting a chronological list of scheduled meetings. Notably, the integration of AI features is on the horizon; users will have the option to access ‘Microsoft 365 Copilot’ when interacting with their agendas, although this will be an optional feature. Additionally, users will be able to join Teams meetings directly from the Agenda view, enhancing convenience.
For the average user, the primary concern is likely the functionality of the Agenda view itself. Initial assessments suggest that it operates efficiently without excessive resource consumption, as 100MB of RAM is not considered excessive in today’s computing landscape. Existing applications built on WebView2, such as Teams and WhatsApp, have already demonstrated significant resource usage, with Discord acknowledging its own resource demands on Windows 11.
As the conversation around Electron and WebView2 applications continues, with many consuming substantial amounts of RAM, there is hope that Microsoft will find ways to optimize WebView2 within the Notification Center. The question remains: is it truly so challenging to develop native components for a feature as essential as the Notification Center?
