Microsoft Jacks Up Windows OEM Fees Driving Up PC Retail Costs
Windows 11 laptop - Image: Microsoft
According to the Taiwan-based United Daily News (UDN,) OEMs are reporting an unusually high surge in annual Windows license pricing, which scales even higher for PCs with higher-end CPUs. This surge is already reflected in current market pricing, but was still disproportionate to the usual single-digit increases. Now, annual license pricing has already increased by as much as 10%. The ranges do seem to vary, though, with the Taiwan branches of ASUS and Acer only reporting a 5% increase.
Even where OEMs may have been profiting on other high-margin components, Microsoft will be taking an even larger cut on high-end PC sales with expensive CPUs.
Some OEMs may be tempted to go the SteamOS route, which will be even cheaper for system builders who already favor AMD hardware. Users shopping for a more traditional Windows experience would be displeased with a major pivot...
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