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Is Microsoft copying Netflix with a planned lower-priced Windows device?

Is Microsoft copying Netflix with a planned lower-priced Windows device?
Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

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Netflix has been struggling recently, losing subscribers and seeing its stock price plummet. In a bid to change its fortunes the company has famously developed a new lower-priced subscription model, which will be supported by ads. Today, we are seeing reports that Microsoft may be working on something similar too with a plan to launch a new lower-priced Windows 11 device that would be supported by showing ads to users more frequently. Let’s check it out.

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It seems that Microsoft is looking to hire a new Principal Software Engineering Manager that will help develop the software needed to offer an affordable PC that will be supported by ads and subscriptions.

The job listing, which was first spotted by WinBuzzer, specifically says the company is planning to build low-cost PCs powered through advertising and subscriptions. It says:

“[The] team will partner with Product Management and Design to ideate and build new experiences aligned with the mission to drive cloud-first experiences into Windows, create prototypes to validate early thinking, and use on-going customer data and research to validate our ideas.”

Interestingly, this move ties in with the Windows 365 Cloud PC, which Microsoft launched last year. The Cloud PC allows users to log in to a virtual Windows operating PC stored in the cloud from any device including iPhones, Android phones, other Windows devices and even Macs and Linux computers. With the cloud doing most of the heavy lifting a much lower-resourced PC would simply need to host the user experience with all the heavy lifting being done by hardware housed elsewhere.

What will be key here is the level of advertising. Amazon has done something similar with its Kindle Fire devices, but it is the new Netflix ad-supported subscription tier that is freshest in everybody’s minds. It wouldn’t be surprising if Microsoft was paying close attention to Netflix user feedback once the company starts collecting it.

In other recent Windows 11 news, the flagship Microsoft operating system will soon start giving you energy recommendations.

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney

Patrick Devaney is a news reporter for Softonic, keeping readers up to date on everything affecting their favorite apps and programs. His beat includes social media apps and sites like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Patrick also covers antivirus and security issues, web browsers, the full Google suite of apps and programs, and operating systems like Windows, iOS, and Android.

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