- Cloud PCs will take longer to activate, but that will get you 20% off your bill
- Microsoft says there are no interruptions in performance when they are up and running
- With OEMs raising hardware prices, Microsoft expects more SMBs to switch to cloud PCs
Microsoft will reduce prices for its Windows 365 cloud PC services by a staggering 20% despite the current memory shortage, with the change taking effect from May 1, 2026.
The company hopes that by making cloud desktops more attractive, especially to SMBs, it can grow its customer base and recover costs that way.
It’s also an interesting time for companies to get into cloud PCs, as the costs of physical devices continue to rise.
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Microsoft is making cloud PCs cheaper amid price hikes
“Storage and DRAM BOM costs increased between $122 and $237 from Q1 2025 to Q2 2026,” Omdia noted, and those costs were passed on to consumers and business customers with device price increases.
The company is also setting out a two-stage plan to reduce resource waste, which may impact performance but will be a welcome improvement on the bill. Cloud PCs will only remain active for one hour after you log out.
Once they start hibernating, they may take a little longer to reconnect than before. Introduced to reduce costs and waste, Microsoft says performance remains the same once you come back online.
In other words, the revision “helps deliver a lower price while preserving all the value and capabilities of Windows 365 Business that partners and customers have come to expect.”
New users and existing users who renew their subscriptions will see the changes.
The “20% decrease in list price for Windows 365 Business, along with a new on-demand startup experience,” makes “cloud PCs more accessible to small and medium-sized business customers,” the company added in an update.
More broadly, it signals a behavioral shift in which Microsoft is targeting lower performance in the name of cost efficiency, just as several OEMs (including the Raspberry Pi) have done by introducing mid-spec device tiers below high-end flagships.
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