Microsoft to try again to reach the K-12 market with a new low-cost Surface laptop: Report

Microsoft officials have said that Windows 11 includes a number of the features that were meant to be part of Windows 10X. Microsoft just recently took the wraps off the
third-generation Surface Go running Windows 11

, but it starts at $400 (before volume discounts) again, minus the keyboard and pen. The
Surface Laptop Go

, a Surface Go with a real keyboard, also is fairly expensive and starts at $550.

Earlier this year, a new Windows 11 SKU called “SE” was discovered by a number of testers. Microsoft officials have declined to say what SE is/was. But according to Windows Central’s report, the coming new Surface Laptop for education, which is codenamed “Tenjin,” could be running Windows 11 SE, which potentially could stand for “Student Edition” or “School Edition.”

Microsoft has touted its PC-maker partners’ low-cost laptops aimed at the K-12 market. But Microsoft and partners haven’t had a solid way to manage these devices, with simple provisioning, wiping and re-provisioning service.

Earlier this month, Microsoft introduced a new Microsoft 365 A1 per device plan that costs $38 per device and is good for six years. A number of customers in the education space have said Microsoft hasn’t explained for whom this plan is meant and how the new per-device license will dovetail with Intune to improve Microsoft’s PC-management solutions in the education market.