Thursday, February 8th 2018
Windows 10 Consumer Roadmap Reveals Five New SKUs
As the launch date for Windows 10 Redstone 4 approaches, Microsoft has shared new licensing information with a few of their select partners. According to the information provided, the Redmond giant will be adding five new SKUs for partners to use with their products. The new SKUs include Entry ($25), Value ($45), Core ($65.45), Core+ ($86.66), and Advanced ($101). At present, not much is known about how Microsoft will differentiate one edition from another, other than tying them to specific hardware specifications. The SKUs will be available starting on April 2, 2018.
Entry: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium ≤ 4GB RAM & ≤ 32GB SSD AND ≤ 14.1" screen size (NB), ≤ 11.6" (2in1, Tablet), ≥ 17" AiO
Value: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium ≤ 4GB RAM & ≤64GB SSD & ≤ 14.1" screen size (EM ≤ 4GB RAM & ≤64GB SSD or ≤ 500GB HDD)
Core: Cannot be used on devices that meet the Core+ and Advanced SKU Hardware Specifications
Core+: High end CPU and >4 GB RAM (All Form Factors) ≥8 GB RAM & ≥1080p screen resolution (NB, 2in1, AiO) >8 GB RAM & ≥2TB HDD or SSD storage (Desktop)
Advanced: Intel Core i9 (any configuration) OR Core i7 ≥ 6 Cores (any RAM) OR AMD Threadripper(any configuration) OR Intel Core i7 >16GB (any Cores) or AMD FX/ Ryzen7 >16GB (any Cores) OR ≥ 4K screen resolution (any processor, includes 4K UHD-3840 resolution
Source:
Thurrott
Entry: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium ≤ 4GB RAM & ≤ 32GB SSD AND ≤ 14.1" screen size (NB), ≤ 11.6" (2in1, Tablet), ≥ 17" AiO
Value: Intel Atom/Celeron/Pentium ≤ 4GB RAM & ≤64GB SSD & ≤ 14.1" screen size (EM ≤ 4GB RAM & ≤64GB SSD or ≤ 500GB HDD)
Core: Cannot be used on devices that meet the Core+ and Advanced SKU Hardware Specifications
Core+: High end CPU and >4 GB RAM (All Form Factors) ≥8 GB RAM & ≥1080p screen resolution (NB, 2in1, AiO) >8 GB RAM & ≥2TB HDD or SSD storage (Desktop)
Advanced: Intel Core i9 (any configuration) OR Core i7 ≥ 6 Cores (any RAM) OR AMD Threadripper(any configuration) OR Intel Core i7 >16GB (any Cores) or AMD FX/ Ryzen7 >16GB (any Cores) OR ≥ 4K screen resolution (any processor, includes 4K UHD-3840 resolution
23 Comments on Windows 10 Consumer Roadmap Reveals Five New SKUs
Why should I be charged more for features I don't need? Just because I have a large screen doesn't mean I need advanced features? I can't believe they are going to do this...
Should of just Kept, Home, Pro, Enterprise.
This garbage is why I just pirate windows for gaming, and use linux for everything else. Screw MS. Different versions based on hardware is just plain stupid.
This licensing scheme is targeted at OEM builders, not end users. So we shouldn't see any changes in pricing from our point of view, at least when buying standalone Windows licenses. I hope.
and another $30 for using sound.
....
Looks like OSX or linux will be my next desktop os.