Microsoft 365 Education and F1 Announced, Windows 10 S Laptops for Businesses Unveiled

Microsoft has announced two new versions of Microsoft 365 , the subscription service it announced earlier this year. Called Microsoft 365 Education and Microsoft 365 F1 (for firstling workers), the company is pushing to extend the reach of its new subscription service and Windows 10 S.

Aimed at students and teachers, Microsoft 365 Education includes suites such as Office 365 for Education, Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility + Security, as well as Minecraft: Education Edition, the company said.

Microsoft 365 F1, aimed at over two billion people, features Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility and Security. It offers updates to Windows 10, as well as Microsoft StaffHub, an app which would come in handy to firstling workers manage their day.

The company also unveiled a range of new Windows 10 S devices, but unlike the existing Windows 10 S devices that have been aimed at the education market. OEMs HP, Lenovo, Acer, and Fujitsu announced laptops that are for businesses.

HP's Stream 14 Pro, which would go on sale next month, is priced at $275 (roughly Rs. 17,980), while the Acer's Aspire 1 laptop will go on sale later this year at a price point of $299 (roughly Rs. 19,550), the company said. Also announced at the Ignite conference was Acer Swift 1, which is priced at $349 (roughly Rs. 22,820), and Lenovo's new v330 Windows 10 S laptop, which will be available early next year at a price point of $349.

Microsoft said it was also bringing some improvements to Microsoft 365, to add enhanced anti-phishing capabilities, and improved integration between cloud and on-premises identity threat detection capabilities.

The push comes as Microsoft doubles down on Windows 10 S, a stripped version of regular Windows 10, and Microsoft 365, its newly found subscription service model. With Windows 10 S, the company is attempting to further bolster the security on its desktop computer by taking away the option of letting people install applications from third-party sources. If the bet works, the company might experiment with the idea on other Windows 10 variants as well.

With Microsoft 365, Microsoft is exploring other ways to get its Windows desktop operating system, which it has traditionally sold through offline retail and online as a standalone product, into a service model where people continue to pay after every few months.