The memory shortage crisis has caused prices of just about every electronic device to go up by pretty significant margins. The bad news is, for Windows PCs, things may just get more expensive. According to a report out of Taiwan, the prices of PC end products may go up by around 5% in this third quarter, as Microsoft charges OEMs a higher rate for their Windows licenses. Or more specifically, the company raised the rate in which prices for the licenses increased.
Per machine translation, UDN cites “a PC brand executive” as saying that Microsoft raises licensing fees for Windows OEMs every year. These price hikes have traditionally been by single digits each year, but starting July, the average increase of these licensing fees has hit between 7% and 10%. These are noted as significantly higher increases compared to previous years. In case you were wondering, the source says that product prices already reflect the license fee increases.
Interestingly, the licensing fee depends on the CPU included in the PC, with the cost going higher for more powerful processors. All that being said, with so many factors contributing to ballooning prices, the source claims that consumers and businesses are unlikely to notice individual changes in the larger scheme of things.
On one hand, with prices already as astronomical as they are, chances are consumers care more about the prices themselves rising, rather than the exact breakdown. But on the other, with memory prices being in the spotlight as it is, additional price hikes stacked on top will either be overshadowed or invite further scrutiny. Regardless of whether this is a case of opportunistic pricing, electronics are likely to continue getting more expensive throughout the decade, if not for longer, depending on which company or executive you ask.
(Source: UDN)