Publication source “Kommersant” in a large distributor, he said that he already supplies about 60% of laptops to Russia without a pre-installed operating system. In the spring, the figure was 40%, and at the beginning of the year it was less than a quarter.
According to the forecasts of Tatyana Skokova, director for distribution of the “Wide-profile distribution” division of Merlion, by the autumn the percentage of laptops without operating systems will reach 80-90%. For comparison, at the end of 2021, the figure did not exceed 24%.
It is reported that in this way retailers are trying to contain the rise in prices for devices (the difference in cost can reach up to 10%), however, according to experts, such a measure may lead to an increase in demand for pirated versions of the OS.
Based on our experience, when a consumer purchases a laptop without an OS, hacked software is installed in 80% of cases.
Tatyana Skokova
However, Citilink notes that almost all laptop brands on the Russian market offer an option without a pre-installed OS.
Such devices are convenient for users, since their cost is lower than similar models with OS, and the buyer can independently choose a convenient software package.
The Ministry of Digital Development, in turn, wants to introduce mandatory pre-installation on “empty” laptops of domestic OS – Astra Linux and Alta OS. By the way, at the end of 2021, negotiations were underway with HP, Acer and Lenovo on pre-installation of Russian operating systems on laptops of companies.
