Microsoft Needs Windows Lite
The article argues that Microsoft needs a lightweight, streamlined version of Windows, referred to as "Windows Lite," to compete with Chrome OS and address the limitations of full Windows on low-end devices. It suggests that such an OS would better serve education and budget markets by focusing on simplicity, security, and performance.
Background
- Philip Bohun is a longtime Microsoft observer and tech commentator who writes about the company's strategy.
- Windows Lite (internally code-named "Santorini") was a rumored stripped-down, Chrome OS competitor that Microsoft reportedly shelved around 2019–2020. It was intended to run only Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and a few native apps (like Office) on low-cost laptops, targeting the education and budget market.
- The article argues that the mainstream Windows 11/12 has become too heavy, complex, and expensive to license for these segments, leaving them to Google's Chrome OS and Apple's iPad. The "Lite" SKU never shipped; instead, Microsoft tried Windows 10 S Mode and Windows 11 SE, which the author sees as half-measures that failed to gain traction.
- The core tension: Microsoft needs a lightweight, low-cost, locked-down Windows variant to compete in classrooms and cheap devices, but its business model (OEM licensing fees) and technical debt from legacy Windows make this difficult without cannibalizing its own higher-margin products.