Computers

Microsoft’s $999 Surface Laptop and Windows 10 S target education

Microsoft’s $999 Surface Laptop and Windows 10 S target education
Today, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 S, its answer to Chrome OS, and a premium Surface Laptop thats runs it
Today, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 S, its answer to Chrome OS, and a premium Surface Laptop thats runs it
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The Surface Laptop's tapered profile
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The Surface Laptop's tapered profile
Windows 10 S looks and works like Windows 10, but it only runs apps downloaded from the Windows Store
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Windows 10 S looks and works like Windows 10, but it only runs apps downloaded from the Windows Store
Today, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 S, its answer to Chrome OS, and a premium Surface Laptop thats runs it
3/4
Today, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 S, its answer to Chrome OS, and a premium Surface Laptop thats runs it
Surface Laptop
4/4
Surface Laptop
View gallery - 4 images

Microsoft announced classroom-centric software and hardware at its education event today. The stars of the show? The Windows 10 S operating system and the all-new Surface Laptop.

Windows 10 S is Microsoft's answer to Chrome OS designed for classroom use. Windows 10 S has built-in tools to make teachers and administrators easily able to centrally set up, configure and adjust each machine's settings for students.

Windows 10 S only runs apps downloaded from the Windows Store. According to Microsoft, this helps maintain the integrity of the machines, for a more robust computing experience on even the lowest cost entry-level devices. It's likely part of Microsoft's strategy for keeping its own costs lower as well – Microsoft gets a cut of Windows Store sales.

Windows 10 S looks and works like Windows 10, but it only runs apps downloaded from the Windows Store
Windows 10 S looks and works like Windows 10, but it only runs apps downloaded from the Windows Store

Microsoft says the Office 365 suite will be coming to the Windows Store in the near future, but the company also has other Windows 10 S education-centric experiences up its sleeve. Teams, Microsoft's answer to Slack, is adding a digital hub for teachers and students to the Windows Store, where they can engage with one another – and outside experts – consistently and dynamically, in and out of the classroom.

Other software offerings include Minecraft: Educational Edition which gamifies code writing for students. Microsoft also highlighted ways that Lenovo's affordable Windows VR headset and HoloLens AR glasses can create 3D, 360-degree and mixed reality educational experiences.

Through partnerships with makers like Acer, Asus, Toshiba and others, Windows 10 S devices will start at US$189 each and include a one-year subscription to Minecraft: Educational Edition. Office 365 for Education is free to all teachers and students.

Microsoft Surface Laptop

While many were hoping for an upgrade to the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, what Microsoft unveiled instead is the Windows 10 S-running Microsoft Surface Laptop.

The Surface Laptop's tapered profile
The Surface Laptop's tapered profile

The 13.5-inch Surface Laptop has a 3:2 aspect ratio, a 2,256 x 1,504 touch (non-detachable) display that supports Surface Pen input and either an Intel core i5 or i7 processor. RAM options are 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB; built-in storage tiers are 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB. At 2.76 lbs (1.25 kg) and under 14.5 mm thick at its widest point, it's also rather light and thin. According to Microsoft, the device gets up to 14.5 hours of battery life per charge, which is impressive if the estimate holds true.

Expansion ports are one full-size USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, headset jack and the Surface Connect charging port. Neither the Surface Pen or any other accessory are bundled in the box, but the Surface Laptop is compatible with other peripherals in the Surface family like the Surface Dial.

There are also other aesthetic and tactile advantages like a backlit fabric-covered keyboard, metal unibody and seamless-looking form factor in multiple color variants: burgundy, gold, blue and platinum.

Surface Laptop
Surface Laptop

If Windows Store content is insufficient, Windows 10 Pro can also be downloaded and installed on the Surface Laptop, which will be free throughout 2017. There's no word yet on how much it will cost after that.

The entry-level Intel core i5 version starts at $999. That's a high price point for a device with a limited OS, so it's clearly aimed more at the higher education and professional crowd rather than younger kids' classroom learning (affordable Windows 10 S devices will come from other makers). It goes up for pre-order today to start shipping and arriving in stores on June 15.

Product page: Microsoft

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4 comments
4 comments
zr2s10
MS has officially lost their mind if that's the true price for this laptop. That will NEVER fly for schools. Stupid. They are officially out of touch with reality.
Brian M
<Windows 10 S only runs apps downloaded from the Windows Store> Just what the world doesn't need another walled eco-system with a Microsoft tax for any program you buy.
Only the education market would be dumb enough to buy this sort of nonsense. So Microsoft are certainly aiming for the right market!
pvisser
put the full windows 10 on and you have a slim and nice looking laptop, competitively priced. But another limited OS is just silly. How well is Chrome doing anyway? How do you expect to compete with Chrome and Apple MacBook with the same device? Silly.
GoriBano
we've installed 14393 to 15063 on my hp laptop, but after installation it denied to accept last purchased windows 10 pro license from Microsoft, So I contacted them and they provide me bellow link to resolve it. https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2017/03/30/managing-windows I followed it but same issue, I cannot buy license again for my OS. At this condition, one of your user recommend me to buy it from ODosta Store at: http://products.odosta.com Which is an Indian site with best customer support. Now I bought win 10 25 digit key code at just $48 and happy with successful activation. Cheers