Everything You Need to Know About Windows 11 SE and Surface Laptop SE

Microsoft has announced a new version or edition of Windows 11 called “Windows 11 SE“. In this FAQ article, we are going to answer all questions which many people are asking about this new operating system.

What is Windows 11 SE?

According to Microsoft, Windows 11 SE is a new edition of recently released Windows 11 operating system specifically developed and designed to support the K-8 classroom. The recent Covid-19 pandemic highly affected the education area and it caused lots of changes made in the education field. Now the schools are taking major help of technology for online classrooms and students need smartphones and computers to attend the class and complete their work.

That’s why Microsoft decided to release a special cloud-first edition of Windows 11 dedicated for students. It has been developed for low-end or low-cost devices and comes with performance enhancements to optimize resources usage.

What is Full Form of Windows 11 SE?

Microsoft has not announced the full form of “SE” but people are suggesting lots of abbreviations. For your reading pleasure some are as following:

• Second Edition
• Standard Edition
• Student Edition
• Special Edition
• Surface Edition
• Secure Edition
• S-Mode Edition

“Student Edition” and “Surface Edition” might be the real full forms of Windows 11 SE.

PS: Windows 11 SE was codenamed as “Hailey” at the time of development.

What are the Main Features of Windows 11 SE?

Windows 11 SE has been designed to support low-end devices which are not capable for heavy computing tasks. It has been developed for study purposes so you should not expect high performance result while using the OS. It’s similar to Chrome OS.

It comes with a simple and clutter-free UI (User Interface) to provide distraction free environment for students.

It’s secure, easy to deploy and manage.

Windows 11 SE has been optimized for Microsoft 365 applications, supporting both online and offline capabilities. The Microsoft Office apps including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, and OneDrive are available to use offline on Windows 11 SE devices as part of a Microsoft 365 license.

OneDrive stores user files locally on each device so that students can access the files when they are offline. Once they connect to the Internet, Windows 11 SE will sync the offline changes automatically.

Windows 11 SE also comes with Microsoft Edge web browser built-in and tools like Immersive Reader.

Windows 11 SE will also support third-party apps including Zoom and Google Chrome browser to give schools the choice to use what works best for them. Microsoft will keep continuing to expand third-party app support to include most common test taking, accessibility, content filtering and classroom orchestration apps.

For IT admins, Windows Autopilot will provide zero-touch device deployment. Intune for Education provides a simple and secure cloud management solution allowing the IT admin to deploy and manage Windows 11 SE devices from anywhere. Using the cloud, devices will be always up to date. The devices can be updated silently, automatically, and outside of class time via policies set in Intune for Education to minimize disruptions. Intune for Education also allows IT admins to deliver the right apps and policies securely to every student device. To help ensure the device and students stay secure, only IT admins can download and install apps and services directly to the device.

Will All 3rd Party Software Programs Run in Windows 11 SE?

Windows 11 SE is a cloud-first operating system and can run only those apps that run in a browser i.e. Edge or Chrome. You’ll NOT be able to install and use 3rd party software which are known as native or Win32 applications.

Also Microsoft Store is NOT present in Windows 11 SE.

So you see Windows 11 SE is a restricted OS and should not be used on personal computers.

Which Devices will Support Windows 11 SE?

Microsoft announced the new Surface Laptop SE which has been custom-built for students. Other OEM companies will also launch Windows 11 SE devices. Some of these manufacturer companies include Acer, ASUS, Dell, Dynabook, Fujitsu, HP, JP-IK, Lenovo, and Positivo.

Windows 11 SE comes with same system requirements as of Windows 11.

Windows 11 System Requirements or Hardware Specifications

When will Windows 11 SE Devices Release and be Available for Purchase?

According to Microsoft, majority of these Windows 11 SE devices will be available for ordering through education channels later this year starting November 9, 2021 and in January 2022, aligned with the education buying season.

What are Hardware Specifications of Microsoft Surface Laptop SE?

Following are the main specifications of upcoming Surface Laptop SE:

• Will be available in White color
• 11.6 inch TFT (LCD) display with 1366×768 and 135 PPI resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio
• Intel Celeron N4020 / N4120 processor
• Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600
• 2 variants: 4 GB DDR4 RAM and 64 GB eMMC storage OR 8 GB DDR4 RAM and 128 GB eMMC storage
• 1MP front-facing 720p HD camera
• 2W Stereo speakers
• Up to 16 hours of battery life
• Wi-Fi – 802.11ac
• Bluetooth 5.0 LE
• One USB-A and one USB-C port
• Barrel type DC connector with 40-watt power adapter
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Microphone
• TPM 2.0 security chip
• Weight: 1,112.4 gram
• Dimensions: mm – 283.7 x 193.05 x 17.85 and inches – 11.17 x 7.6 x 0.7

It’ll cost $249.99.

PS: Some people might be already knowing Surface Laptop SE with the previous name “Vivian” which was its codename actually.

Also Check:

[Tip] Bypass Windows 11 TPM and Secure Boot Requirements Check to Install on Unsupported Hardware

[Tip] How to Download Windows 11 Offline ISO Files

How to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows 11