2026-08-10T22:33:48.412547Z

Amid RAM price hikes, Microsoft reportedly raises Windows license cost, forcing OEMs to hike prices even further on hardware

www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/amid-ram-price-hikes-microsoft-reportedly-raises-windows-license-cost-forcing-oems-to-hike-prices-even-further-on-hardware

Windows 11 Hero Surfaces on a white table

Windows CentralWindows 11 license fee hikes contributing to higher laptop prices, says reportA new report claims Microsoft has raised the cost of the Windows license by up to 10% for certain OEMs, which is much higher than usual.

2026-08-11T17:26:34.111092Z

billwashere@billwashere@lemmy.world

⁨3⁩d

Replying to @⁨mereo@piefed.ca⁩

I have no idea why this makes sense? What about hardware getting more expensive justifies the license for software going up? Is this just because they can?

2026-08-11T17:39:02.057966Z

Tja@Tja@programming.dev

⁨3⁩d

Replying to @⁨billwashere@lemmy.world⁩

Pretty much. If hardware is constant lly going up and consumers put up with it, why not get a slice of the pie? It’s not like an OEM buyer will reconsider just because of a few bucks for Windows, if they were going to buy anyway.

⁨Aug⁩ ⁨11⁩, ⁨2026⁩, ⁨17:39⁩en