Overview
- Multiple outlets report that Taiwan’s United Daily News and corroborating sources say Microsoft increased Windows OEM licensing fees by about 7%–10%, with the change taking effect in July.
- The reported fees are scaled by CPU tier, meaning higher‑end processors attract larger license charges and raise costs more for premium systems.
- Several PC makers including ASUS and Acer have already notified price increases or adjusted forecasts, and analysts estimate roughly a 5% retail price rise in affected markets in Q3.
- Microsoft declined to comment to reporters, and the hikes apply only to OEM preinstalled licenses—consumer retail Windows 11 prices (Home $99, Pro $199) remain unchanged.
- The increase compounds an ongoing component cost squeeze—higher prices for RAM, SSDs and CPUs—which narrows OEM margins and leaves them choosing between passing costs to buyers, cutting specs, or absorbing losses.