When Windows 10X was folded into Windows 11, Microsoft appeared to have avoided competing against Chromebooks within the budget and education laptop markets, but Microsoft only agreed to be still working hard around the newly announced Windows 11 SE and Surface Laptop SE.

The organization announced both at its Reimagine event this week and also the hardware and software represent impressive new offerings from Microsoft that may certainly sway some in the education sell to adopt it over Google or Apple's options.

Looking at the hardware first, the top Laptop SE's $250 price point is the biggest attention grabber but it has more opting for it than that. Probably the most compelling features aren't the specs though, it's the durability and repairability. Laptops not just has user-replaceable storage but based on Microsoft from the "display, battery, keyboard-even the motherboard-can easily be repaired onsite, saving time and cash for this admins and schools." That's a big benefit when compared with most contemporary laptops.

While the specs are not to create home about, they are not bad either. The 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768-pixel display is about what you will expect within this price range and is coupled with an Intel Celeron N4120 CPU, 4 or 8GB of RAM, and 64 or 128GB of storage that needs to be enough for that tasks that K-8 students are undertaking.

The 2.45-pound weight is reasonably portable and truly thin and light would compromise on durability and repairability. A 720p webcam helps to ensure that remote learners it's still in the loop. The top Laptop SE also delivers the most important ports with USB-A, USB-C, a headphone jack, as well as an AC charging port. Wireless connectivity includes 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.

The hardware is only the gateway to Windows 11 SE, the real star from the show. This takes Windows 11 and strips out lots of unnecessary extras to improve accessibility for children, while also making it far more manageable for teachers and college IT admins. The operating system is streamlined for devices like the Surface Laptop SE to provide excellent performance and battery life on even lower-end hardware. The full-screen app launches also result in the operating-system less confusing for younger learners.

For the teachers and IT admins, features like Microsoft Intune for Eduction make managing entire classrooms (or schools) of Windows 11 SE laptops possible with app installations, user profiles, and files all accessible through the cloud. Microsoft Office including OneDrive and Teams are of course present too, serving as a gateway to students using Microsoft products in the future.

It's a strong offering from Microsoft, but we'll need to see whether it can make a dent within the overwhelming lead that Google's Chrome OS and Chromebooks have within the education market currently.