The reviews of the Surface Laptop hit the interwebs a few days ago and while most reviews have been positive, some downright glowing, the majority of privileged testers only focused their attention to the hardware and battery life. Most reviewers brushed aside, perhaps, the most compelling aspect of the Surface Laptop, which is to say, the Windows 10 S operating system.
Fortunately, Microsoft has offered it’s own review and breakdown of the Windows 10 S shipping on all Surface Laptops this week, and in their coverage, viewers get a chance to see six of the refinements that should make owning a Surface Laptop a pleasure.
- Windows 10 S is designed for superior performance. Start-ups are quick and designed to stay that way.
- Browse the web with Microsoft Edge: a faster, more secure browser. With Windows 10 S, Microsoft Edge is the default browser. Microsoft Edge is built for Windows 10 and offers a secure browsing experience. In fact, Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 S blocks more phishing sites than Google Chrome on Chromebooks. Microsoft Edge is useful for students and home users alike, ensuring compatibility with the sites college students and universities use, like Google Docs. New features in Microsoft Edge–like the new Tab Preview Bar–make it easy for students to research and manage school projects. And, with Windows Ink in Microsoft Edge, students can easily make notes directly on a web page and share them with a classmate. If you’re new to Windows 10 S and Microsoft Edge, visit this post to learn how to import your data from other browsers into Microsoft Edge. With Microsoft Edge, Bing is the default search engine, and you can easily research and save any tabs – including any search engine as your preferred search destination.
- Microsoft–verified security. With Windows 10 S, customers who want to use apps can get them from the Windows Store where they are first verified for security, and then locally each run in a safe “container,” ensuring consistent performance and security for the system. Windows 10 S customers will be protected from malware by default with Windows Defender and can use additional anti-virus software available in the Windows Store if they choose.
- Download the apps you want right from the Windows Store. There are many choices of apps in the Windows Store that are ready for you to download and use with Windows 10 S. Some examples include: Office 365 Personal in preview – available today for Windows 10 S– Hulu, Pandora, Autodesk SketchBook, Netflix, Sling TV, Complete Anatomy, Duolingo, NPR One, Facebook, Instagram, Drawboard PDF, OhBot, Fluid Math, Sensavis Visual Learning, and Twitter. We continue to work with our partners to bring even more apps to the Windows Store over time – Spotify and iTunes are apps we recently announced that will be available in the Windows Store in the coming months. Visit the Windows Store to get started exploring all the content available to download.
- Office 365 and Windows 10 S are Better Together. Windows 10 S runs the rich desktop Office apps including popular productivity apps like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. The full suite of Office apps in preview are currently available to download today with Office 365 in the Windows Store for Windows 10 S. On Surface Laptop, you can simply open the Start menu and click on any of the Office app icons like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint to launch the download from the Store. For more information on Office 365 Personal in the Windows Store for Windows 10 S, visit this FAQ.
- Built-in Windows experiences to keep you productive and inspire creativity. Windows 10 S offers familiar Windows 10 experiences like Cortana–your digital personal assistant–password-free sign in with Windows Hello, Windows Ink, the Xbox app, Paint 3D, and more.
Not only is Microsoft bringing its A game as far as hardware as most reviews point out, but the Windows 10 S software is harboring a few niceties that should make owning the Surface Laptop and using Windows 10 the perfect combo.
