Price gouging software Company Microsoft, who have jacked up the price of their Xbox products along with M365 subscriptions along with One Drive costs this year, is now hitting manufacturers with a Windows price rise, which is set tp be passed directly onto consumers by PC manufacturers.

Microsoft has quietly increased Windows OEM licensing fees for computer manufacturers by 7% to 10%, delivering a fresh blow to PC vendors already reeling from historic hardware inflation shrinking margins and massive memory price increases.

The fee hikes, which took effect in July 2026, land smack in the middle of a compounding global PC industry crisis.

According to reports from Taiwan’s United Daily News, the increased licensing costs are already being integrated into systems bound for international retail channels, including Australia, with manufacturers passing the burden directly onto consumers.

Microsoft routinely makes annual adjustments to its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) licensing contracts, a PC brand executive noted that past adjustments were typically capped at low single digits.

This year’s steep jump represents a significant departure from historic norms.

Because Microsoft tiers its OEM fees according to hardware specifications—charging higher rates for systems equipped with top-tier CPUs—the highest-performing notebooks and desktops carry the heaviest price tags.

Modular laptop maker Framework flagged these rising Windows licensing costs as early as late July alongside price hikes for Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors and memory modules.

PC manufacturers are hiding these fee increases inside broader price adjustments driven by skyrocketing silicon costs, making it difficult for everyday buyers to isolate the software surcharge.

2026 PC HARDWARE COST SPIKES

│ Memory (DRAM) │ +110% YoY │
│ Solid-State Drives (SSDs) │ +147% YoY │
│ Windows OEM Licensing Fees │ +7% to +10% │
│ Average Notebook Retail Price│ +30% across major vendors (ASUS / Acer) │

The software hike comes as hardware manufacturers face the worst component supply squeeze in years.

Insatiable AI data center demand has diverted silicon wafer allocation away from consumer hardware.

Since early 2026, system RAM prices have surged over 110%, while solid-state storage (SSDs) has jumped roughly 147%.

Brands like ASUS and Acer have bumped average laptop retail prices by nearly 30% over single-week shipment windows.

Microsoft’s latest Surface family carry retail markups $400 to $500 above previous-generation equivalents, while Apple has added hundreds to its Mac lineups to offset the same supply chain friction.

Giant OEMs like Dell, HP, and Lenovo leverage volume scale to negotiate softer terms with Microsoft, leaving smaller boutique builders and entry-level brands with minimal leverage to absorb the margin squeeze.

The compounding cost increases have brought a halt to the PC market’s multi-quarter recovery.Data from Counterpoint Research shows global PC shipments totaled 65 million units in Q2 2026—a 4% year-over-year decline that snapped a five-quarter growth streak. Market share leaders Lenovo (-2%), HP (-8%), and Dell (-6%) all saw shipment volume drop as soaring Bill-of-Materials (BoM) costs hit mainstream consumer purchasing power. Q2 2026 Global PC Market Performance (Counterpoint Research)

With value-focused budget laptops increasingly unviable due to component baseline costs, retailers are pivoting heavily toward premium “AI PCs” and high-margin enterprise commercial devices, leaving price-sensitive consumers priced out of the market.