Surface Laptop SE

Microsoft unveiled its newest Surface device back in November – the Surface Laptop SE. Designed for students, the new laptop runs Windows 11 SE, boasts compact, portable hardware, and a relatively repairable design.

The announcement made the Laptop SE sound quite appealing, at least from an education standpoint. Repairability is great on any device and should be much more common, while things like Windows 11 SE sound helpful for educators and not much else.

Microsoft sent MobileSyrup a Laptop SE to try out and after playing with it for a few weeks, I think the best way to describe the device is ‘ChrEdgebook.’

You see, the Laptop SE is, for all intents and purposes, a Chromebook. Except, it runs Windows and the browser is Edge, instead of Chrome OS and Google Chrome. Hence, the ‘ChrEdge’ – a somewhat popular term referring to Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge browser.

At the same time, the Laptop SE is very much not a Chromebook. Windows 11 SE toes a precarious line between offering the full flexibility of Windows while also blocking access to it for the people using the computer. I’ll dig into it more later, but the short version is you can run third-party apps like Zoom or even Google Chrome on Windows 11 SE (I have both installed on my review unit). The only way to get these apps – or any apps, for that matter – is through an IT admin. There is no way for users to install apps directly on the Laptop SE.

Considering Microsoft positions the Laptop SE as a device for schools to deploy to students, that makes a lot of sense. If the Laptop SE were generally available to anyone to buy, I’d consider this a massive limitation. In the intended use case, however, it might actually be a great feature.

Basic hardware gets the job done

Here’s the thing with the Surface Laptop SE: it offers barebones hardware. It’s not a problem though, since the plastic chassis will likely hold up to abuse from kids much better than other materials. It’ll also be cheaper to replace or repair should that come about.

In fact, repairability is a big part of the Laptop SE pitch. Microsoft says it designed the Laptop SE to be repairable on-site by IT admins at schools, with accessible screws. The company even shared a video with me detailing the disassembly process.

Beyond the repairability factor, there isn’t a whole lot to get excited about with the Laptop SE. The keyboard is great, as per usual with Surface devices (but it’s not as good as Microsoft’s premium Surface options). The trackpad is good, although I’d love if it were larger. The speakers are fine, not the best but not terrible for watching the odd YouTube video. The 11.6-inch LCD TFT display, with its 1366 x 768 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio, is serviceable, but it doesn’t look great. But then, for a $319.99 laptop aimed at students, these things are all forgivable issues.

On the inside, educational institutions will have their choice of Intel Celeron N4020 or Celeron N4120 CPUs, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and 64GB or 128GB of eMMC storage. The unit I tested had the N4120, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, although about 13GB of that wasn’t available to me, leaving me with 115GB total storage, less the 36.3GB used by Windows and the pre-installed apps. Suffice to say that the 64GB option will likely be even tighter on storage.

Of course, Microsoft put a big emphasis on using its cloud storage system OneDrive with the Laptop SE. While that will help, I do think most students using the Laptop SE will need to be diligent about managing what’s stored on the device and what’s backed up to the cloud with so little onboard storage.

Performance was about what you’d expect from a Celeron, which is to say, not great. The Laptop SE is more than capable of handling web browsing and word processing, which honestly is all most students will need. Still, scrolling around websites can be janky and slow at times. Due to the restrictions on installing apps, I couldn’t run any of the benchmarking software I typically use to help evaluate performance.

My Laptop SE also came pre-loaded with Minecraft: Education Edition, which ran surprisingly well when I tried it out.

As for ports, the Laptop SE has one USB-C connector, one USB-A port, a proprietary barrel charging port (no Surface Connect here), and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Again, barebones, but it covers the fundamentals.

You can check out a full breakdown of available specifications for the Laptop SE here.

A vessel for Microsoft services

Ultimately, I think the Laptop SE is well-intentioned, if not perfect. It’s exactly what it needs to be – cheap, repairable, and chock-full of helpful tools for IT admins for mass deployment in schools.

For my part, I was a little bummed when I booted up the Laptop SE for the first time and discovered I couldn’t install apps on it from anywhere (not even the Microsoft Store, which isn’t even on the device!). But, again, that’s a choice that makes much more sense for a device you’re handing out to students – I am very much not the target demographic for this.

At the same time, I think the Laptop SE one-ups Google’s Chrome OS simply because it enables IT admins to deploy Windows apps as needed. That opens up a much wider library of software.

Still, it’s important to keep in mind that, like Chromebooks and Google services, the Laptop SE is, at its core, a vessel for Microsoft services.

I also worry the Laptop SE might be too little, too late. Chromebooks have a strong foothold in schools – most students I know already have school-provided Chromebook they use. I’m sure the Laptop SE will find a place, but it may not unseat Google in the education battle.

The Surface SE starts at $319.99 in Canada – you can learn more about it here.

Microsoft has unveiled two new products aimed at students — Windows 11 SE and a low-cost Surface Laptop SE. The company positions the software and new Surface hardware as a great option for students and educational institutions, which sounds a lot like a way to take on Google’s Chromebooks.

Starting with Windows 11 SE, Microsoft says it built the new OS with feedback from teachers and school IT admins to make the software simple, distraction-free, secure and easy to deploy. Further, Microsoft says it optimized Windows 11 SE for “the most-used education experiences,” which, naturally, includes Microsoft 365.

Interestingly, Microsoft touted that Windows 11 SE devices don’t need persistent internet access, noting that up to 16 million K-12 public school students in the U.S. don’t have persistent internet access outside of school. As such, Microsoft says Office apps, like Word and PowerPoint, work offline on Windows 11 SE. OneDrive also stores files locally and can back files up when students can reconnect to the internet.

Although this all sounds like a no-brainer, it seems like a shot at Google’s Chromebooks, which tend to rely more heavily on web-based platforms and can lose functionality without an internet connection. Still, Google has also done a lot to make Chromebooks less dependent on internet connections in recent years.

Another benefit to Windows 11 SE is that it supports third-party apps. I was particularly surprised by that announcement (especially because Microsoft mentioned Zoom and Chrome as examples, both of which directly compete with Microsoft services like Teams and Edge).

That should allow schools that opt to use Windows 11 SE to work with whatever tools they want, even if that means they won’t use Microsoft’s services. That said, the choice is left up to schools, since Microsoft says only IT admins can download and install apps and services.

Surface Laptop SE and other low-cost Windows 11 SE devices

To showcase the new education-oriented operating system, Microsoft announced its most affordable Surface device — the Laptop SE. Coming in at $319.99 in Canada, Microsoft says the tiny laptop is made specifically for K-8 students.

The Laptop SE offers an 11.6-inch screen, 720p HD front-facing camera, stereo speakers and “the same high-quality typing experience as the rest of the product portfolio.” Moreover, Microsoft says the Laptop SE offers “new levels of repairability,” allowing IT admins to easily repair the laptops on-site.

While the Surface Laptop SE will lead the charge for Microsoft’s new education push, the company also announced that other partners would launch education devices. That includes Acer, Asus, Dell, Dynabook, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo and more will soon offer Windows 11 SE laptops running on Intel or AMD platforms.

Ultimately, it sounds like Microsoft will soon have an extensive fleet of education options tailored for schools. It remains to be seen if Windows 11 SE and the new education-oriented laptops from Microsoft and partners will sway schools away from Google and ChromeOS. Either way, the education space just got a lot more interesting.

Those interested can learn more about Windows 11 SE and the Surface Laptop SE here.

Update 11/09/2021 at 12:42pm ET: Added Canadian pricing to the article.