The main priority for device makers would instead become support for lightning-fast connectivity with as little latency as possible. With compute taken care of in the cloud, there would be little need for giant SoCs, which would mean more freedom when it comes to form factor. The transition to a cloud model would also change the paradigm from a hardware perspective. Under this arrangement, customers might pay for PC hardware in installments alongside their compute and cloud storage, similar to the way smartphones are often sold today. Microsoft could use a new cloud-based OS as the foundation for an even more concerted drive into PC-as-a-Service, normalizing the model on offer with Shadow and GeForce Now, whereby any PC can be turned into a powerhouse workstation or gaming rig. There are currently twelve separate Cloud PC configurations, each of which offers a different amount of resources, and customers can switch between the tiers at any time. Windows 365 is marketed as a service that provides professionals with unrivaled flexibility, in terms of the location and device they work from, but also the resources available to them. But in a broader context, shifting to a cloud setup is more about enabling new models of consumption. In a business setting, moving to a cloud-only system would give IT administrators tighter control over security configuration and identity management, and full oversight of how devices are being used. Microsoft has already announced it will allow Windows 365 customers to boot directly into their cloud desktop, bypassing the local OS, which feels only one step short of the cloud-only vision. But the logical next step might be to take the whole lot into the cloud, à la Chrome OS.
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