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Windows Thin Client and Lean OS
Lean Machine
To complement its Windows 365-based cloud desktops, Microsoft unveiled Windows 365 Link at its Ignite in-house exhibition in November 2024. Windows 365 Link [1] is a client hardware system for stationary use, exclusively designed for the purpose of connecting to Windows 365 [2]. The case, according to Microsoft, is made of 50 percent recycled materials, does not require active cooling, measures only 12x12cm, and stands just 3cm tall (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Windows 365 Link is a minimalist client for accessing Windows 365 cloud PCs (source: Microsoft).
The Windows 365 Link was officially available April 2025 for $350 (£349, EUR419), and Microsoft announced that the mini PC will not remain the only device of its kind. Microsoft is looking to develop more user devices with other form factors, as well as collaborating with its original equipment manufacturing partners, enabling them to offer compatible hardware.
Various online media outlets in 2024 reported the leak of an ISO image for a new lean operating system named Windows CPC, codenamed NXT or WNC. The software became available in April 2025 in parallel with the thin client, but at the time of writing, the image for the x64 architecture
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