As expected, Microsoft officially announced Windows 11 SE
and Surface Laptop SE, a new version of the operating system
and Surface Laptop that’s primarily aimed at the education
sector. Windows 11 SE is supposed to be a competitor to Chrome
OS and it will ship on education devices only.
Windows 11 SE was originally leaked online in July and
it promises a series of quality improvements for students,
unlike the rival platforms. For example, Windows 11 includes
offline access to Microsoft Office apps, which is something
that should definitely benefit students not having active
access to the internet.
Furthermore, Windows 11 SE is a streamlined version of Windows
11, so it can smoothly on low-end hardware and it is likely to
ship on devices priced below $300. It also ships with OneDrive
integration, so you can store files locally and sync them with
Microsoft 365 subscription powered OneDrive when you connect to
the internet next time.
A new FAQ document also revealed the various categories of apps
that would be supported on Windows 11 SE. As per the document,
Windows 11 can run Win32 desktop apps like Office, UWP apps,
content-filtering apps, test-taking solutions, accessibility
apps, classroom communication apps, essential diagnostics,
connectivity, browsers, and more.
However, Windows 11 SE won’t ship with a Microsoft Store and
users will be allowed to run web apps in a browser like Edge or
Chrome. This is “very common for education apps and web apps do
not require installation on the device,” Microsoft said.
“Windows 11 SE
limits the apps that can be installed on the device,” the
company added.
Unlike Windows 11 in S mode, which is here to stay, Windows 11
SE aims to create a distraction-free environment for students.
Interestingly, Windows 11 SE also doesn’t come with Microsoft
Store, which means users will not be able to install
third-party apps desktop or UWP apps from the Store. Like
ChromeOS, you’ll need to rely on Microsoft Edge or Google
Chrome-based web apps.
“There is no Microsoft Store for Windows 11 SE, so IT educators
can control which apps and tools students download,” Microsoft
said.
Additionally, Windows 11 SE uses new enhancements to minimize
performance issues on low-cost hardware. We don’t have the
benchmarks of Windows 11 SE, but performance is obviously going
to be better due to these limitations.
