Do you really want the “half-disabled” Windows 10 S?

The theme of Microsoft's latest press conference was education, but although many teachers took the stage to demonstrate and the video was full of students' smiling faces, the protagonists of the press conference were still two new products: the Windows 10 S system and the new notebook Surface Laptop.

Before the launch, some people speculated that Microsoft planned to bring a product to compete with Chromebook. Chromebook, designed by Google and strongly supported by various PC OEM manufacturers, is known for its cheapness and easy management, and has achieved amazing success in the US education market. At the launch last night, Microsoft did launch a product that could become a rival to Chromebook, but it did not appear in the way expected by the outside world.

In the first half of last night's press conference, Microsoft's ideas were clear and concise. It called Windows 10 S a light version of Windows 10, and apps can only be installed from the Windows Store. In the education scenario, this also means security, consistent performance, focus on education, and long battery life.

It’s cheaper than Windows 10 Pro, but it just doesn’t have as many features, which is exactly what schools need (and why ChromeOS is so popular).

But Microsoft couldn't help itself and released a gorgeous new Surface Laptop, which runs Windows 10 S by default. With a starting price of $999, this newest member of the Surface family is definitely not a Chromebook competitor. Instead, it is a very good choice in the 13-inch premium laptop category, similar to the 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro, Dell XPS 13, etc.

The real Chromebook alternative is Windows 10 S, which has the same features and benefits as ChromeOS, solves many of the pain points, and runs on almost any hardware.

Microsoft said that when the Surface Laptop is released in June, PC partners will also release computers running Windows 10 S. These computers start at $189 and the configurations will not be too high.

Computers running Windows 10 S can overcome the traditional problem of cheap PCs, which are filled with all kinds of useless software and endless software updates. Allowing applications to be installed only through the Windows Store means that they can be updated automatically, without third-party updaters running in the background.

Especially in the education market, allowing students to download at will may cause a lot of confusion and bring malware. No one wants some accidents to happen in the classroom. Just like the closed environment and fast login of Chromebook, it adds a lot of points.

It’s easy to see why Windows 10 S is the default on some low-end computers, which are designed to handle lightweight, simplified tasks, but it’s harder to understand why the Surface Laptop is also equipped with the new system, even though it can be upgraded to Windows 10 Pro.

Many IT professionals and corporate executives may be interested in the Surface Laptop, but of course, the first thing they need to do is upgrade their system.

If 10 S had always focused on education, things would be much simpler, but it is clear that Microsoft's ambitions for Windows 10 S go far beyond that. It wants to serve both high-end users and users who use it for practical purposes, and it also has the limitation of only being able to install app store programs.

The positioning of 10 S becomes even more complicated in the event that Windows on ARM appears again before the end of the year, and 10 S might be the best OS for new devices.

Microsoft's strategy may be correct. With Windows Store on the verge of death, Microsoft needs to find a way to increase developer interest. By bundling the app store with premium hardware such as Surface Laptop, Microsoft hopes to give the outside world some confidence, and by bundling teachers and students with some educational tools, it also wants developers to see the market prospects.

But after the failure of Windows RT, the vague positioning of 10 S becomes particularly important.

Microsoft also announced Windows RT (a variant of Windows 8) when it released Surface RT in 2012. It is a streamlined version of Windows designed by Microsoft specifically for ARM processors, which aims to solve the same problems as Windows 10 S, but also loses compatibility with the existing Windows application ecosystem.

RT also caused confusion among consumers and failed for a variety of reasons. The main one was that people bought a Windows machine but couldn't run the Windows applications they used every day. Even with the support of the Office suite, it failed to attract more people to use it. In the end, Microsoft lost nearly a billion dollars.

When Windows 10 S computers go on sale in June, they may face the same fate, with the first wave of consumers wondering, why can't it run the programs I use most?

It currently can't run iTunes or Google Chrome, and the only supported browser is Microsoft Edge, which has been doing pretty well over the past two years, but it's still not as good as Chrome.

For potential buyers of Windows 10 S computers, this could be a decision-making process, and they'll be faced with the decision of upgrading to Windows 10 Pro, which would allow them to install Chrome, but at the same time give up the security and manageability benefits that Windows 10 S offers.

It's not impossible that Google might develop Chrome for Windows 10 S. After Windows 8 was released, Google quickly entered Microsoft's new ecosystem and released a "Metro-style browser" that followed its strange design guidelines. However, half a year later, it abandoned Windows 8 at about the same time as Microsoft. But isn't it ironic to let a competitor become an important pillar of its own ecosystem?

Perhaps Microsoft is just tentatively using Windows 10 S on Surface Laptop. If market demand is strong, it may release a version with Pro as the default system, and may even relax the requirement to install programs through the app market.

So, when do you think the full system version of Surface Laptop will be released?

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.