Microsoft is seemingly plotting a new Windows Lite operating system in an effort to compete with the increasingly popular Google ChromeOS.
The latest Windows 10 SDK appears to show evidence (see below) Microsoft is going back to the well with another lightweight version of its desktop operating system geared towards the education market.
According to reports, it could be based upon the rumoured ‘modern OS’ Windows CoreOS platform and arrive as a stripped down, restricted operating system that only offers access to UWP/Windows Store applications.
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If you’re thinking sounds an awful lot like the Windows S platform running on the Surface Go, then you’d be right. However, it looks as if Microsoft may be abandoning the S Mode platform, perhaps in favour of whatever this new version turns out to be.
Windows Lite?
Windows 10 SDK 18282 pic.twitter.com/WWD2HEl6FE
— Tero Alhonen (@teroalhonen) November 20, 2018
Microsoft has been seeking to deliver an operating system geared towards lower cost devices for a while now – of course, it’s difficult to forget the abject failure that was Windows RT – but according to a report from Petri.com (via ZDnet) this may be the attempt that represents a “truly a lightweight version of Windows that isn’t only in the name.”
The report from Brad Sims claims Windows Lite might not even bare the Windows name and will have a new user interface in order to differentiate from the main Windows 10 desktop platform.
He writes:
The reason Microsoft had to kill off Windows 10 S was to make way for this iteration of Windows. The goal of Windows Lite is to make it super lightweight, instant on, always connected, and can run on any type of CPU. Knowing that this week Qualcomm will announce a new generation of Snapdragon that can run Windows significantly better than the 835, fully expect to see this new chip powering many of the first devices running the new OS.
He says it’s unlikely to be available to buy as an operating system alone; only built-in on OEM devices. He also believes that it will be on show at the Build 2019 expo and revealed as the ‘new direction for Windows.’
Are you intrigued by the prospect of Windows Lite? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.