Windows 11 SE is the first real hint at Microsoft's newest OS

While every self-respecting Windows 10 user in the world was waiting for some details about the new operating system, scheduled to make an appearance at the June 24 event, something else happened.

A Windows 11 build got leaked earlier this week, much to everyone’s delight, and gave us a pretty good idea of what to expect in the near future.

The first Windows 11 build is highly restrictive

A new SKU, which is called Windows 11 SE, has been discovered recently and it seems to be a primordial version of the OS, but with some pretty tough restrictions to what users can actually do.

Judging by available information, it looks like the new Windows 11 SE is a SKU destined for enterprises.

Users have the ability to switch to other enterprise-focused SKUs as well. You can actually go ahead and change it from Enterprise to Education, Pro for Workstations, and others.

As we mentioned above, this new version of the OS is somewhat of a confining SKU, with many of the basic options that users usually have, being not available at the moment.

Just by accessing the Settings app, you can already observe that we’re not dealing with a complete version of the software yet.

Another basic feature that is missing from this version of Windows 11 is the Microsoft Store. This seems to be an odd restriction, seeing how Microsoft usually trusts its Store to be a safe space for apps.

When trying to access it, the app prompts users with an error, saying that the Store is blocked, and are urged to contact an IT admin.

NOTE

With such unquestionable issues, 26% of users wonu2019t upgrade to Windows 11, as revealed in our exclusive Windows 11 survey. The results include responses from 6056 readers, coming mostly from US inhabitants, as well as readers from India, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other 147 countries.

You need a Microsoft account for this experience

One of the other important restrictions that users have to face is that the PC has to be set up with a Microsoft account.

So, basically, Microsoft is already nudging users to do this, the only workaround for avoiding having to use a Microsoft account is by not connecting to the internet.

Take into consideration that offline account creation is also broken in this edition, according to users that have shared this information on social media.

You can also switch to a local account after the fact, keeping in mind that it is not possible to have more than one local account through the UI, except by using the command line.

If we really think about it, some of these restrictions could be because of bugs that are plaguing this unfinished state of the build.

Some good news about this Windows 11 SE is that it seems to support Win32 apps that originate from outside the Store, which Windows 10 S didn’t.

The one possible explanation for this is that Microsoft intended for organizations to limit their employees to very specific apps needed just for work.

We will just have to wait and see how Microsoft intends to move forward with their plans, and if they can deliver a more complete version of the OS on the 24th of June.

That’s your chance to watch the Windows 11 unveiling event at 11 am Eastern time. Microsoft likely has quite a few surprises still in store.