Following a Q&A session with COO Kevin Turner in Arizona, there are new rumblings that Microsoft will introduce subscriptions forWindows 10. Can Microsoft really justify doing that?
This new round of speculation was kicked off by a reply Turner gave to an audience member who asked, “Are you going to start losing money on Windows?” Turner said that the Windows 10 pricing structure hasn’t been announced yet, and made it clear that Microsoft hasn’t discussed Windows as a loss leader. They do, he said, have to “monetize it differently.”
Is that really a hint that Microsoft is going to start offering subscriptions with Windows 10? It seems like a long shot.
This is the same Microsoft that currently has more than 40 apps listed in Google Play — for users of Android devices, and Microsoft doesn’t directly generate any revenue from the Android OS itself (they do make money off several Android OEMs thanks to lucrative IP licensing deals). They also don’t make any money off iOS, yet there are dozens of Microsoft apps in the App Store. It’s these apps — and the services they’re connected to — that Microsoft wants users subscribing to. Would it really make any sense to penalize Windows users by charging them a fee to use the OS and additional fees for services like OneNote, Office 365, and Xbox Music?
Microsoft is already offering some pretty awesome subscription deals. There’s Office 365 and unlimited OneDrive storage for $7 a month. There’s also the Work & Play Bundle they just announced, with Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Music Pass, Office 365 and OneDrive, and Skype Unlimited World + WiFi — which will only set you back about $150 (for a one-year sub) right now.
Then again, Turner did go on to say that Microsoft is still “finding new ways to monetize the lifetime of that customer on those devices,” as are their competitors. Windows store app sales, subscription-based services, device and software sales — it’s all still part of the revenue picture for Microsoft. If they’re going to start offering an evergreen OS — let’s call it Windows 365 — license like they’re already doing with Office 365, then you’ll likely see it lumped in with other Microsoft services.
Ultimately, it may be a technicality whether you’re paying a subscription for Windows and getting the other stuff for free, or getting Windows for free when you subscribe to everything else.
