Microsoft held a hardware event on 2 May 2017 which it used to reinforce its position in education and make a couple of key announcements, including Windows 10 S and the Surface Laptop.

Microsoft was kind enough to supply us with the video for you to catch-up on all the action and you can read more about what happened below.

https://mediastream.microsoft.com/events/2017/1705/LearnWhatsNext/player/LearnWhatsNext.html?cid=synd-tele

What did Microsoft announce?

The education event was all-encompassing, with Microsoft talking about features of Windows that would benefit education professionals and students, confirming that Intune for Education was now widely available to help manage large collections of devices. The key announcements, however fell around Windows 10 S and the Surface Laptop.

Windows 10 S

Windows 10 S is a new version of Windows that's closely related Windows 10 Pro, but has been streamlined based on feedback from teachers and education professionals. Windows 10 S runs full desktop apps, but can only install apps from the Windows Store, with the aim of being more secure and easier to manage.

Windows 10 S is designed to run on all hardware and has been designed to be faster to log in than Windows 10 Pro and to offer better battery life, partly because there's tighter control on apps.

Surface Laptop

Microsoft has also announce the Surface Laptop, an addition to Microsoft's line-up of premuim Surface devices. The Surface Laptop is a hero device running Windows 10 S, powered by Intel Core i5 or i7 chipsets and promising 14.5-hours of battery life. The Surface Laptop is fully touch enabled and compatible with Surface Pen, it's thinner than the MacBook Pro and almost as expensive at $999.