Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Windows 11 SE could be the successor to the ill-fated Windows 10 in S Mode

Chuong Nguyen
By

It appears that Microsoft may be working on a lightweight version of its next-gen Windows 11 operating system called Windows 11 SE. The OS is believed to be the direct successor of Windows 10 S, which was eventually rebranded to Windows 10 in S Mode, an operating system that Microsoft developed for use in the home and education markets and is designed for long battery life and sustained performance. Windows 11 SE could be marketed as a competitor to Chromebooks when it debuts, and like its predecessor, may not allow installation of apps outside of the Microsoft Store.

Leaked screenshots and details about Windows 11 SE were posted by Twitter user @fakirmediation. In a tweet, the Twitter user suggested that the platform is the successor to Windows 10 Cloud Edition, and that the early build required an online account to log in because “offline account creation is broken in OOBE.”

You’ll be able to convert your online account to a local account after logging in, but the early build doesn’t yet support multiple users. Right now, the Microsoft online store appears to be blocked, but Win32 apps appear to be running. Widgets, however, doesn’t work on this build, @fakirmeditation wrote in a number of subsequent tweets.

Related
Leaked screenshot of Windows 11 SE posted by Twitter user @fakirmeditation

Like leaks for the upcoming but unannounced Windows 11 update, the desktop version of Windows 11 SE was shown with a centered taskbar and redesigned Start Menu, unlike the left-justified Start menu on current Windows 10 builds.

Recommended Videos

According to journalist Mary Jo Foley, the build that @fakirmeditation posted appears to be the S Mode SKU for Windows 11. Sources that talked to WMPowerUser noted that Windows 11 SE could be the successor to Windows 10 Cloud Edition, which Foley clarified on Twitter was just the code name for Windows 10 in S Mode.

In a subsequent tweet, Foley claimed that she has not heard any information about Microsoft wanting to get rid of S Mode. It’s unclear then if Microsoft will ultimately launch this variant of Windows 11 as Windows 11 SE, as the screenshots depicted, or if it will instead use a Windows 11 in S Mode moniker.

When Microsoft originally launched Windows 10 S, it promoted features like a fast boot-up time, the same core code as Windows 10 in a lightweight package, and lower hardware requirements that could make laptops and PCs cheaper. Traditionally, Windows 10 PCs could also be upgraded to the Windows 10 S platform if owners chose. Microsoft had intended its S Mode platform as a way to combat the rise of Chrome OS and Chromebooks in the education segment.

The company has an event scheduled for June 24, and we likely will hear more about the future of Windows at that time.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Chuong Nguyen
Chuong Nguyen
Computing Writer
Silicon Valley-based technology reporter and Giants baseball fan who splits his time between Northern California and Southern…
Your Windows 11 screenshots may not be as private as you thought
Person sitting and using an HP computer with Windows 11.

When you capture a screenshot and crop out sensitive information, it's still possible to recover a portion of the image that was supposedly removed in some circumstances.

This isn't the first time redacted documents have turned out to have left hidden data intact and readable with the right tools and knowledge. A recent bug in Google's Markup tool for the Pixel phone, humorously dubbed the "Acropalypse," shows this issue might be surprisingly common.

Read more
The Windows 11 taskbar is getting an important new update
windows 11 taskbar third party app pinning

Microsoft is working on new experiences for Windows that will allow developers to enable pinning for third-party applications, as well as enable pinning to the Taskbar.

Microsoft recently announced the details of these upcoming functions in a blog post. This is the brand's attempt to universalize its pinning process across all apps used on Windows. In practice, it will be similar to how pinning works on the Edge browser, with the Windows 11 users being notified by the Action Center about a request for pinning to the Taskbar by the app in question.

Read more
If your PC is running slowly, the latest Windows 11 update may be to blame
A laptop running Windows 11.

Microsoft may have a problem on its hands -- the latest Windows 11 update doesn't seem to be working as intended. According to various user reports, the update drastically slows SSD speeds, in some cases even cutting them in half.

If you've noticed that your PC is loading slowly or programs aren't running as quickly as you'd hoped, you might be affected by this problem. Here's how to fix it.

Read more