NUC, NUC! Who’s there? ASUS with a client device for Microsoft’s cloudy PCs
- Reference: 1772171592
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/02/27/microsoft_dell_asus_windows_365/
- Source link:
The software giant was previously the only vendor to make such machines, in the form of the Windows 365 Link machines it [1]debuted in 2024 and [2]delivered the next year.
Dell and ASUS have now joined the cloudy PC party.
[3]
ASUS’s model is the NUC 16 for Windows 365. Readers may recall that “NUC” stands for Next Unit of Computing, a brand Intel coined for a range of PCs it and later [4]sold to ASUS.
[5]
[6]
After the Taiwanese company acquired NUCs, ASUS told The Register it [7]wanted to take the machines into new markets.
And now it has, and [8]says its machine offers “the latest Intel processor” without specifying a model, but promises DDR5 memory, Wi-Fi 6E, 2.5GbE LAN, Bluetooth 5.3, HDMI, USB Type-C, and USB Type-A ports will all be present in the 0.7-liter device and that it can support three displays.
[9]
Dell’s device is the Pro Desktop for Windows 365. The company hasn't offered any specs beyond a promise it can drive three displays.
Microsoft says tweaks to the minimalist “Cloud CPC” OS that runs on the machines will add support for pairing Bluetooth devices “during the out-of-box experience” and support for custom branding on the sign-in screen.
The software giant suggests these devices as especially secure and manageable, because they don’t require users to store anything on the device or on-premises – apps and data are all in Azure. Of course the company says its own Intune tool makes conventional PCs easy to secure and manage, too. And to complicate matters further, Microsoft also offers tech that allows [10]vanilla PCs to boot straight into a cloudy PC instead of starting up a local version of Windows, or [11]streaming apps that don’t need a PC at all .
[12]Microsoft reveals new cloudy AI PC that’s not a Copilot+ PC
[13]Omnissa brings VDI-style app packaging to physical PCs
[14]Citrix finds new use for virtualization: Avoiding PC price hikes caused by tariffs
[15]Google takes on virtual desktops with acquisition of app-streamer Cameyo
Microsoft cares about this stuff because around ten percent of PCs used by businesses are virtual. Analyst firm Gartner thinks that number will double by 2027 because cloudy virtual PCs accessed through a thin client can be [16]cheaper to run than laptops .
Another factor that creates the possibility of winning more users for Windows 365 is Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware, which has seen the virtualization pioneer stop selling the kind of software bundles suited to running just desktop virtualization workloads. Some organizations therefore face a choice of signing up for VMware’s very capable but pricey Cloud Foundation private cloud bundle, or finding a new way to run virtual PCs.
[17]
Buyers must wait until Q3 for the debut of the new devices from ASUS and Dell. Microsoft, meanwhile, continues to sell its own Windows 365 Link devices. ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/11/19/microsoft_windows_365_link/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/03/windows_365_link/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aaF5UchTaLxIF_PVcqt3bgAAA1E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/19/intel_asus_nuc_deal/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aaF5UchTaLxIF_PVcqt3bgAAA1E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aaF5UchTaLxIF_PVcqt3bgAAA1E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/08/asus_nuc_year_one/
[8] https://www.connect.asus.com/notify-me-ASUS-NUC-16-Windows-365
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aaF5UchTaLxIF_PVcqt3bgAAA1E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/24/windows_365_boot_preview/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/18/microsoft_cloud_apps_omnissa_update/?_gl=1*1lb1dmn*_ga*MTI0MjE1MDMxNS4xNzE5OTg5NTg5*_ga_JXW44Y23NM*czE3NzIxNTc2ODkkbzE5MzQkZzEkdDE3NzIxNzA0MTckajQxJGwwJGgw
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/19/microsoft_virtual_pc_update/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/24/omnissa_appvolumes_physical_extension/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/07/citrix_virtualisation_avoids_tariffs/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/06/google_acquires_cameyo_vdi_challenge/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/14/gartner_daas_predictions/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aaF5UchTaLxIF_PVcqt3bgAAA1E&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Coming soon at the price of what used to be a normal PC
And how long before your ability to download any content you've created via the thin client to store offline is blocked for 'reasons' and all your data is belong to us? All your company's data and IP sitting in someone else's datacentre and your level of 'ownership' only extends to creating content and accessing it. You might - for a very steep fee - have an option to download, but knowing how these cloud companies like to change the terms and conditions to be egregiously in their favour, do you want to take that chance?
Re: Coming soon at the price of what used to be a normal PC
Ah the Oracle model of data kidnapping.
Thin clients were unreliable enough when it was all on-prem
The school I attended in the 2000s went through a full cycle of implementing thin clients in an attempt to do things on the cheap. It appeared that no-one thought to test out that a class of 35 IT students logging on at the same time was enough to crash the by then elderly server. To add to the fun, the crash could be anywhere between 30 seconds and 30 minutes after logon, needless to say students aren't the most diligent in ensuring their work is saved.....
Equally I've worked at places that moved to thin-client operation to save a quick buck, in some cases they switched back to conventional desktops within 12 months.
Add internet connections, and running everything remotely on someone else's computer (that definitely doesn't keep to 365 days of uptime), and the cost doesn't look like that much of saving from where I'm sitting.
But its The Cloud™, which is really new-fangled tech as far as a CxO is concerned. That must make it good, right? Right?
Why?
I've had a pretty flawless experience played Halo Infinite using cloud gaming on an ancient i5 machine. Why do we need the latest intel process for a remote desktop now? Are they doing the telemetry and data snooping at the client end?
NUC
The first thing you do on a NUC is NUKE the windows drive and install Linux.
The problem with thin clients is that most of them cost cost almost the same as regular PC. The closest to a cheap thin client is a Raspberry Pi.
There are plenty of options besides a Raspberry Pi
Although I have 2 x Raspberry Pi and 2 first generation Banana Pi there are plenty of other options to buy a 2hnd computer as a thin client and use it as a small low powered but capable computer.
I also have an Igel M340C, definitely designed as a thin client but it now has a 240GB main SSD, 512 GB second SSD internally, A quad core processor, old but capable Radeon graphics and sits with at least a 2 TB HDD on USB3 and enough ports to connect some more if needed.
The biggest issue with them is the earlier 1+ GHz version is old fashioned legacy BIOS. The newer 2+GHz version is UEFI and also slightly newer graphics.
It isnt lightning fast but it does what its needed for very well. It acts as a simple desktop to make web browsing and streaming on a smart TV more bearable than the TV's interface. Jellyfin as a media server for all my own recordings of many years from a headless Banana Pi running my TVheadend server. I have to transcode everything in to .mp4 so it doesnt transcode on the fly from .mkv as it doesn't support hardware accelaration on the graphics.
Cost of the Igel unit £25 including PSU even an old Raspberry Pi would cost me more.
There are plenty of other brands with similar aims as thin clients that can still be usable.
Horses for coarses, if you need to do 3d rendering or video editing (or trascoding 10+ years of live tv recordings) use a suitably specced computer.
Thin clients or full desktops/workstations have their place. Using something incapable makes your life a misery, using something massively over specced wont make you much if any more productive. Just use more energy than needed and so be a source of heat for your house or office space.
A completely spurious analogy, You can hold a Citroen 2CV 24 hour race (Snetterton), it wont be fast, but they nearly all get to the end. or you can have a Ferrari and go faster but more likely not get to the end of 24 hours. Faster can be reliable and even useful, but it can also just be an unecessary expensive ego boost!
Coming soon at the price of what used to be a normal PC
You too can have a thin client and subscription to a cloud OS.
Thanks AI!