Windows 11 SE, a new student-focused version of Windows 11 aimed squarely at the education market, was unveiled by Microsoft today and, like Windows 11, will be rolled out this year along with new lower-priced Windows 11 SE laptops sold to schools, led by the new $249 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE. As with Windows 11, it will be rolled out this year along with a new low-priced Windows 11 SE laptop to be sold to schools, led by the new $249 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE.

This confirms rumors we have heard that Microsoft is working on a Chromebook competitor, codenamed Tenjin, to enter the affordable laptop market for K-12 students to use for schoolwork and distance learning.

The specs on Microsoft's new $249 Surface Laptop SE are pretty meager, but should be more than adequate for surfing the web and doing homework.

In addition to the new Surface Laptop SE, lower-priced Windows 11 SE laptops from vendors such as Acer, Asus, Dell, and Dynabook will be available this year.

Windows 11 SE appears to work much the same way as Windows 11, although it has some unique hooks for the education market. First and foremost, Microsoft states that Windows 11 SE is "optimized for the most used educational experiences," including Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, OneNote, OneDrive, and Powerpoint. These Office apps can be used offline on Windows 11 SE if they have a valid Microsoft 365 license, allowing students without Internet access at home to do their schoolwork. The relevant files are stored locally by OneDrive, with the goal of syncing them to the cloud once students return to school and have access to the Internet. [Microsoft says Windows 11 SE will also be easier for school IT administrators to set up and configure through the existing Windows Autopilot deployment service and Intune for Education device management toolset. Windows 11 SE users will not be able to download or install apps without IT administrator approval.

However, Microsoft is at pains to ensure that Windows 11 SE supports third-party apps like Chrome and Zoom, and the company will continue to work to expand support for the most common apps used in the classroom. So if your school has a favorite test-taking app or monitoring solution, Microsoft wants to make sure it works with Windows 11 SE.

Windows 11 SE cannot be purchased or upgraded from Windows 10 or Windows 11. Currently, the only way to get Windows 11 SE (according to Microsoft) is to purchase a compatible device with Windows 11 SE pre-installed. Such devices, which are expected to roll out throughout this year and into 2022, will be sold through the education channel.

Speaking of Windows 11 SE devices, Microsoft has added a new laptop to its Surface family, the $249 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE. This 11-inch plastic laptop with basic specs appears to be thicker and simpler than its Surface siblings.

But with a starting price under $300, what you get is a pretty solid deal. The Intel Celeron N4020 SoC in the default model is not very fast, but it should be powerful enough for light web browsing and homework. The integrated graphics capabilities are non-powerful, so you won't be able to run most PC games on this machine, but for many parents and teachers, that's probably a good thing.

The Surface Laptop Studio SE's mere 4GB of RAM is about what we would expect from a Chromebook or other laptop in the $200-$400 range, but if you get excited about upgrading to 8GB, you should be rewarded with a performance boost The same is true for the SE, which comes with 64GB by default. Likewise, we are glad that the SE comes with 64GB of storage by default, as this is really the minimum we need, given that the bulk of the storage is consumed by installing Windows 11 SE. This is better than the 32GB on entry-level student Chromebooks like the Acer Chromebook Spin 311, but Chrome is not expected to take up as much hard disk space as Windows 11 SE. Still, if you don't want to worry about managing and deleting files to free up storage space, you may want to consider upgrading to the Surface Laptop SE's 128GB storage option.

The laptop itself comes in only one color, Glacier (aka white), and the all-plastic housing should provide reasonable durability in a backpack. Microsoft claims that the 40W battery can be used for up to 16 hours on a single charge, but based on our experience testing the laptop, it is likely to be less than that in a real-world usage environment.

Microsoft has not yet set a firm date for when the Surface Laptop SE will be available for purchase in schools, saying only that the Surface Laptop SE and other Windows 11 SE devices will roll out during 2021 and in 2022

COV.

Due to the global lockdown implemented to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, students around the world are still doing a lot of distance learning. This has led to a surge in demand for inexpensive laptops that can handle video calls and schoolwork, and the Windows 11 SE and the new $249 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE should handle both well. If it proves popular among educators, it could be a big success for Microsoft. [But Chromebooks are already eating Microsoft's lunch in the education market, and convincing schools entrenched in the Chrome ecosystem to switch to Windows 11 SE is going to be an uphill battle. Microsoft has sold several customized versions of Windows for low-power laptops, from Windows RT to Windows 10 S, but so far nothing has matched the popularity of Chromebooks among educators. [Of course, it may take a little longer to know how widespread Windows 11 SE and the array of devices running it will be. Microsoft has said that it expects most of the new Windows 11 SE devices to be available for order through education channels later this year and into 2022.