On Tuesday, Microsoft unexpectedly introduced a “simpler” model of Windows, Windows 11 SE, in its newest effort to push apart Chromebooks and make Windows the working system of elementary- and middle-school school rooms.

For years, that working system was Windows 10 (and now Windows 11) Home in S Mode, aka Windows 10 S or Windows 11 S, which powers the brand new Surface Go 3. Windows 11 SE seems to be a barely extra versatile various: The working system will help third-party apps together with Chrome and Zoom, Microsoft stated.

The new working system has gained the approval of {hardware} builders, too, Microsoft stated. Classrooms and fogeys could have the choice of shopping for Windows 11 SE PCs from Acer, Asus,
Dell, Dynabook, Fujitsu, HP, JK-IP, Lenovo, and Positivo. Even extra shocking, Microsoft stated it is going to debut its most cost-effective Surface but, the $249 Surface Laptop SE. They’ll be obtainable starting later this yr, Microsoft stated.

For years, the American classroom has been a battleground for the foremost tech gamers, starting with primary Commodore computer systems, then shifting to early Windows PCs, Apple Macintoshes, and even iPads. In 2011, nevertheless, Google moved Chrome OS off its personal CR-48 pilot laptops and onto the first Chromebooks from Acer and Samsung. For the final decade, Google-powered Chromebooks have been rising in may, affect, and options, sufficient to make the decision between buying a laptop and a Chromebook an necessary selection.

It must be no shock that Chromebooks surged in the course of the pandemic, or that Microsoft is making a renewed push into that territory. Chromebook gross sales soared as youngsters turned to distant education and fogeys hunted down the know-how that they might usually use within the classroom. According to Canalys, Chromebook gross sales erupted a large 275 % year-over-year in the course of the first quarter of 2021, after climbing even increased throughout 2020. For the yr, Chromebooks even outsold Macs, based on analyst agency IDC. (However, Canalys reported on November 1 that Chromebook gross sales fell 37 % from a yr in the past, as college students returned to the classroom. Mercury Research reported similar findings within the PC CPU market.)

What is Windows 11 SE?

Microsoft is barely speaking about Windows 11 SE in obscure phrases, although firm representatives adopted up with extra specifics on the way it will differ from Windows 11. According to a weblog publish authored by Paige Johnson, the vice chairman of schooling advertising at Microsoft, educators have informed Microsoft that “they need options that are simpler, secure, and work on more affordable devices.” Johnson described Windows 11 SE PCs as “distraction-free” and straightforward to handle.

According to screenshots Microsoft offered, Windows 11 SE appears to be like precisely like Windows 11. But there’s a number of key variations. For one, Microsoft did away with the distracting Widgets menu in Windows 11 SE, based on an e-mail despatched by an organization consultant. Apps will probably be launched in full-screen mode by default, too. Unlike Windows 11, youngsters utilizing a Windows 11 SE PC will solely be capable to run two apps side-by-side, relatively than 4. Finally, the Start menu will solely embody 4 “Recommended” information to assist youngsters discover what they want, the consultant stated.

Johnson additionally stated that the brand new PCs will probably be optimized for the most-used schooling experiences, together with Microsoft 365, and that they’ll be configured particularly for each on-line and offline experiences. Microsoft referred to as out Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote as apps that will probably be included on Windows 11 SE PCs. As you may count on, a Windows 11 SE PC would permit the coed to work offline. Students will be capable to sync information with OneDrive regionally, which is able to then join and sync with the cloud when again on-line. Naturally, college directors will be capable to handle Windows 11 SE units through InTune for Education, conserving them updated behind the scenes.

For years, Windows 10 S and now Windows 11 S have forbidden customers to obtain or sideload third-party apps like Chrome or Zoom within the curiosity of safety. But as Zoom’s utilization soared in the course of the pandemic and customers switched out of Windows 10 S to accommodate it, it’s seemingly that Microsoft merely relented.

Microsoft

Well, kind of. While Microsoft will permit apps outdoors of the Microsoft Store to be loaded onto Windows 11 SE units, solely the IT admins will be capable to carry out these duties, an organization consultant stated. That feels like it is going to forestall youngsters from loading apps willy-nilly. According to Johnson, Windows 11 SE additionally contains “broad support for web-based learning apps,” although it’s unclear whether or not Microsoft is solely speaking about supporting one thing like Zoom’s internet app versus a real standalone, downloadable software.

Microsoft

Finally, it’s unclear what’s going to ultimately occur to Windows 10 S / 11 S because of Microsoft’s new working system. Microsoft initially launched Windows 10 S in June 2017 as an answer “streamlined for simplicity” for colleges, just like the language Microsoft used to explain Windows 11 SE. But Windows 11 SE actually looks like a center floor between Windows 11 and Windows 11 S, and presumably an altogether wholesale substitute. For now, although, each will exist: “Windows 10 in S mode is still a great option for people looking for a general streamlined Windows experience, and in fact, it continues to ship in devices like Surface Go 3,” an organization consultant stated.

If we needed to guess, nevertheless, we’d count on that Windows 11 SE will ultimately be the “new” Windows 11 S, one which’s merely extra forgiving than in years previous.