Microsoft takes a fresh swing at Chrome OS with Windows 11 SE, launches ‘affordable’ Surface Laptop SE to showcase new OS

Days after rolling out Windows 11 for ‘eligible’ devices, Microsoft has announced a new version of the OS called Windows 11 SE, modelled specifically for entry-level laptops. Needless to say, that it will have a more watered-down approach as opposed to the full-fledged Windows 11, something that will allow Microsoft to bring it to even more machines—after facing stern criticism over the stringent hardware requirements it is asking consumers to fulfil in order to upgrade.

More specifically, Windows 11 SE will be tuned for education which is to say that Microsoft is taking another swing at Google and its more popular Chrome OS. Unlike Windows 10 in S mode, which was also based on more or less the same concept to bring Windows to more people, Windows 11 SE marks a different trajectory in that it will be more focused and have a clear target audience—schools and students. For the same reason, it will only come installed on new machines.