Microsoft is ending help for Home windows 11 SE subsequent yr, 5 years after it launched the operating system on low-cost laptops that had been designed to compete with Google Chromebooks. Home windows 11 SE was solely out there on gadgets for schooling clients, corresponding to colleges, and it was alleged to persuade them to not change to Chrome OS.
“Assist for Home windows 11 SE — together with software program updates, technical help, and safety fixes — will finish in October 2026,“ says Microsoft in an updated support article noticed by Neowin. “Whereas your system will proceed to work, we advocate transitioning to a tool that helps one other version of Home windows 11 to make sure continued help and safety.”
Microsoft received’t launch its upcoming 25H2 replace for Home windows 11 SE, which signifies that gadgets will stay on 24H2 till help ends subsequent yr. Acer, Asus, Dell, Dynabook, Fujitsu, HP, JK-IP, Lenovo, and Positivo have all created Home windows 11 SE laptops, and Microsoft even launched its personal $249 Floor Laptop computer SE in 2021.
Microsoft has tried and did not compete with Chrome OS many occasions over time. The software program maker beforehand created an S Mode that locked Home windows 10 right down to apps from the Microsoft Retailer, but it surely ended up irritating customers when there weren’t sufficient apps within the Retailer.
Home windows 11 SE took the same strategy by encouraging colleges to make use of Progressive Internet Apps (PWA) as an alternative of conventional win32 apps. IT admins needed to create exceptions for gadgets to run win32 apps, and Microsoft maintained a strict record of allowed apps for Home windows 11 SE.
Microsoft’s determination to kill off Home windows 11 SE comes a yr after Gartner warned that Chromebooks had been “shedding market share as a result of their restricted buyer base and inferior construct high quality.” Chromebook shipments have been in decline since 2022, and the PC refresh cycle this yr appears to be largely centered on Home windows 11 upgrades fairly than an exodus to Chrome OS.