Microsoft is reportedly planning to cut the license fee of Windows 8 by 70 per cent. Bloomberg, citing “people familiar with the program”, stated that “manufacturers will be charged $15 [£9] to license Windows 8.1 and preinstall it on devices that retail for less than $250 [£150], instead of the usual fee of $50 [£30]”.
“The discount will apply to any products that meet the price limit, with no restrictions on the size or type of device.”
The move is supposedly to bring the cost of Windows 8 devices closer to that of lower-price machines such as Google Chromebooks.
Over 200 million Windows 8 licences have been sold since the operating system’s launch in October 2012 – a slower uptake rate than that of Windows 8’s predecessor, Windows 7.
PCR has reached out to Microsoft for further details concerning the reports.