Microsoft quietly raises Windows OEM fees, pushing PC prices even higher

Microsoft has quietly increased Windows OEM licensing fees, adding yet another cost pressure to PC manufacturers already struggling with soaring component prices. According to Taiwan’s United Daily News, the company raised fees by 7% to 10%, a much steeper jump than the usual low‑single‑digit annual increases. Because Microsoft charges OEMs based on CPU tier, higher‑end machines with chips like Intel Core i7 incur even larger licensing costs.

This change could push PC prices up by another 5% this quarter, on top of the already significant increases driven by the global surge in demand for RAM, SSDs, and CPUs. ASUS and Acer have confirmed new price hikes, and ASUS says some products now cost nearly 30% more than in late 2025.

The rising costs are hitting the market at a bad time: global PC shipments are expected to fall to 65 million units in Q2 2026, down 4% year‑over‑year — the first decline since early 2025. AI PCs and Windows upgrade cycles are still driving some demand, but higher prices are making buyers hesitate.

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