Microsoft Debuts $349 Mini PC That Streams Windows 11 From the Cloud

Microsoft has introduced a strange new addition to its desktop lineup: a mini PC that exclusively streams Windows 11. For $349, Windows 365 Link is a Cloud PC designed to offer quick and inexpensive access to Microsoft's cloud-based apps—AKA Windows 365—for the trade-off of being unable to install local programs. It will debut in "select markets" in April 2025.

On Tuesday, the Redmond-based tech giant showed off Windows 365 Link at Microsoft Ignite 2024. At 4.7 inches wide and just over an inch tall, the PC is smaller than most desktop computers, including even Apple's tinier-than-ever Mac Mini . Inside that little chassis hides 8GB RAM, 64GB storage, Wi-Fi 6E support, and Bluetooth 5.3 support. Windows 365 Link includes two 4K display outputs, three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, an HDMI port, DisplayPort, an audio jack, and an ethernet jack. Is there a fan, though? Nope. Because local computing power isn't the point, the device doesn't need one.

"[Windows 365 Link] is designed to be long-lasting with no moving parts, not even a fan—hence reducing the need for frequent replacements," says a Windows IT Pro Blog post about the device. This design choice also serves a sustainability angle: Windows 365 Link's top shield, bottom plate, and motherboard are made of 90% to 100% recycled material.

Microsoft claims Windows 365 Link offers a fast and secure connection to a cloud-based version of Windows 11, which boots up "in seconds." Without local data, apps, or administrative users, the only "link" to the PC's productivity apps is through the cloud, which reportedly reduces threat actors' opportunities to compromise the device. In this way, Windows 365 Link is even less customizable than a Chromebook, Google's productivity-focused streaming machine.

This brings us to the question of Windows 365 Link's audience. Microsoft is clearly taking a stab at the spaces that might utilize a Chromebook, like schools and businesses, but offering them a desktop solution instead. The company's introduction trailer depicts warehouses, call centers, administrative professionals, and what appears to be a work-from-home employee—all of whom are among Windows 365's primary customers anyway.

Microsoft is currently running Windows 365 Link previews in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, with a broader rollout slated for April 2025.