‘Microsoft Lite OS home screen resembles Chrome OS’

A mock-up shows what Windows Lite OS would look like internally at Microsoft right now. The screen view of the lightweight operating system shows a centered start screen with a search box and apps, which makes it somewhat like Chrome OS.

The mock-up was created by Microsoft insider Brad Sams of Petri, who previously published information about Lite OS. The screenshot shows a changed interface from Windows 10, with apps pinned centered on the taskbar and a launcher with a large search field, app suggestions, and pinned apps.

The window is reminiscent of the Chrome OS start screen, but according to Sams, it is also much the same as Windows 10. This is how the explorer works like in Windows 10, as well as windows and the settings menu. As with Chrome OS, there are no shortcuts on a desktop, but it is not known whether this is also not possible or whether the mock-up simply does not show them. There have been rumors for some time about Lite OS, a lightweight operating system with which Microsoft would like to compete with Chrome OS.

Lite OS would only run Universal Windows Apps and Progressive Web Apps for the time being. This makes Lite OS the spiritual successor to Windows 10 S, the stripped-down version of Windows 10, which Microsoft stopped last year due to lack of success. Microsoft would consider running win32 software in containers or streaming with Lite OS. Lite OS would run internally on both Intel and ARM systems.

According to Brads, Microsoft is working hard to release Lite OS as soon as possible and a first announcement could follow during the Build conference in May, with tests in the summer. Microsoft seems to be taking a different approach with Lite OS than with Windows 10 S and starting with a heavily stripped-down operating system to which Windows 10 functions will be added in due course. The goal seems the same: to provide an operating system that manufacturers can put on systems with low-end processors and little storage.