Windows 10 S Mode release date, news and features

Windows 10 S was first revealed back in May 2017 as a standalone OS, but it faced some controversy at launch. A lot of the criticism boiled down to the fact that it restricts users to apps found on the Microsoft Store. Luckily, users can switch out of Windows 10 S Mode for free.Still, the lightweight operating system has proved instrumental in getting Windows 10 to over 825 million installs.

Windows 10 in S Mode makes a lot of sense for the right kind of user and device. For instance, the Microsoft Surface Go is a cheap alternative to the Surface Pro, with a low-power Intel Pentium Gold processor, making it a perfect candidate for Windows 10 S. We’ve also seen reports of people getting Windows 10 S running on a Raspberry Pi 3, which would make even more sense for the lightweight OS. Microsoft is also rumored to be working on Windows Lite, which will further the lightweight nature of the OS, to compete with the best Chromebooks.

Windows 10 S Mode will also be able to take advantage of any Windows 10 updates, like the October 2018 Update and the upcoming Windows 10 April 2019 Update – though it may be delayed .

That means you get neat features like the April Update’s “Light Mode” and useful storage space tools, not to mention the possibility of playing Xbox One games natively.

Now, two years after its initial release, Windows 10 S is a major part of the Windows 10 landscape, so we thought it was the perfect time to dive in and explore everything the lightweight version of Windows can do. And, make sure you bookmark this page, as we’ll keep it updated with all the latest and greatest Windows 10 S information that appears.

Cut to the chase

What is it? Windows 10 without x86 and x64 apps
When is it out? Available now
What will it cost? Free to all schools using Windows 10 Pro

Windows 10 S release date

Windows 10 S originally launched on May 2, 2017, with devices using the OS trickling out over the next few months. Fast forward to 2019 and Windows 10 S is bigger than ever. These lower spec Windows 10 devices are more versatile now than ever before.

Eventually, there will be a UI toggle that’ll let Windows 10 users switch in and out of S Mode, but that’s not available at the time of this writing. Fortunately, you can still get out of S Mode relatively easily – just head to the Windows Store on your device and search for ‘switch out of S Mode’. As for when we’ll see the switch go live, who knows? However, Microsoft may sneak it in at a later date – we don’t think it’ll appear in the April 2019 Update, though.

Now, as for the reveal of Windows 10 S itself – Microsoft’s event invitation was titled ‘#MicrosoftEDU’, making no misgivings about its aims with the new OS. While Windows 10 S is not for individual sale, it is issued to IT administrators in education as well as laptops found in stores and online.

It’s no coincidence that Windows 10 S is focused on the education sector, where Google’s Chromebooks are experiencing outlandish success.

Windows 10 S price

Windows 10 S is essentially free for users. Microsoft subsidizes the cost of the OS to hardware manufacturers, assuming they’re not getting Windows 10 S for free. Essentially, as a user, you don’t really pay for Windows 10 S Mode, instead you’re paying for the hardware running it.

Save for premium devices like the original Surface Laptop, you can find devices running Windows 10 S Mode starting at just $189 (about £146, AU$251) and cap out around $299 (about £239, AU$396). PC makers across the board, including Dell, HP, Asus, Acer and Lenovo all have Windows 10 S Mode-powered devices in their stables.

But, now that Windows 10 S Mode is a thing, it’s a toggle that doesn’t cost anything extra. Both Windows 10 Home and Pro S Mode users are able to go to the Windows Store and opt out of S Mode, though the conversion only works one way – out of S Mode – right now. Though, there will be a switch in the settings app of a future build, that will let users go back and forth.

What is Windows 10 S?

Microsoft intends Windows 10 S to serve as a lightweight, more secure version of Windows 10 for lower-end devices. While in “S Mode,” Windows 10 will only support apps that are downloaded from the Windows Store.

This talk of a version of Windows that can only download Microsoft-approved apps is familiar, isn’t it? Microsoft believes it has mastered this approach since the turbulent days of Windows 8 RT and Windows 8 with Bing – both of which tried to position Microsoft as the sole provider of apps through curation.

The good news is that this allows for a startup time of under 5 seconds as opposed to the 30 - 40 second startup time of Windows 10 Pro. Not only that, but configuring settings (such as Wi-Fi, webcam, etc.) across an entire classroom of students is as easy as inserting a USB stick in each of their laptops.

Being in competition with Google’s Chrome OS, Microsoft has, of course, also positioned Windows 10 S as a more secure PC operating system. However, its resilience to viruses is mostly a side-effect of the inability to install apps not approved by Microsoft. Historically, Windows viruses have tended to erupt from untrustworthy internet downloads.

Should you find a must-have app that isn't available in the Microsoft Store in Windows 10 S you can switch from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Home or Pro by just going to the Windows Store and searching for “switch out of S Mode”. Microsoft used to charge a fee for this service, but now it’s free for everyone.

Microsoft will also allow users that upgrade to Windows 10 Pro to move back down to Windows 10 S. And, now that Microsoft is rumored to be working on a Windows 10 Lean Mode, which will be even more lightweight and locked down.

Oddly enough, the shiny new Surface Laptop 2 now ships with Windows 10 Home, not in S Mode like the previous.

That said, what can you expect to see included in devices running Windows 10 S? Well, the Edge browser, OneNote and Windows Ink are all givens. The standard Movies and Groove Music apps, as well as Maps and Mail and Calendar are shoo-ins, too.

Of course, we won’t see x86/x64 program support on a Windows 10 cloud operating system until 2019 when the aforementioned Polaris is expected to touch down and implement a ‘virtualization container’ for each of your favorite legacy applications. That means that, yes, should everything work out perfectly, there will be a Windows 10 cloud OS that can emulate the .exe’s of the past.

Despite its constraints, Windows 10 S still features File Explorer, and although many of the laptops that come with the lightweight OS pre-installed may ship with smaller capacity SSDs, Microsoft’s forthcoming introduction of OneDrive Files On-Demand will make it so files can be stored in the cloud, but still viewed the same way as locally stored content.

All things considered, there are still questions looming around in regard to the viability of Windows 10 S. Fortunately, as new developments emerge to (hopefully) address those criticisms, you can count on us to cover them right here on this page.