What are the Differences between each Windows 11 Variations (Professional, Home, Enterprise, SE, and Home)
After the first appearance in October last year (2021), and after being in the market for around a year Microsoft has come up with various Editions of windows 11 that suits the needs of its users.
Editions offered
Windows 11 is offered as the following editions.
● Home
● Pro
● Pro for Education
● Pro for Workstations
● Enterprise
● SE
One thing you must note is that these Windows 11 Editions, totally have nothing to do with the Versions for instance in Windows 10 one of its versions is listed as 1903, this is just a numeric identifier.
However, Microsoft later changed it to Alphabets, for instance in Windows 10, it is now “20H2” instead of “2009.”
In conclusion, the OS name can be said as “Windows 11 Pro for Workstations version 22H2.”
If required you can change your windows version according to your needs, through downgrading, and also upgrading, for which you can use features such as the Windows update, but when it comes to Operating System Editions you cannot do like that, as it heavily varies on the license type used.
Whenever you are activating Windows, you will use a license or a key, this can be either a regular license or even a volume license, which states whether it is a Consumer or a Business Edition Operating System.
Consumer vs Business Windows OS
Eventhough that you cannot find the type of License you have by checking the OS installed in your system, still it is better especially if you are a business owner, as business license can be reused on an another computer if required.
You can get Consumer Edition of Windows 11 via OEM Installations, Media Center, or by using retail licenses, these are following versions you can obtain.
● Windows 11 Education
● Windows Pro & Pro for Workstations
● Windows 11 Enterprise
Business versions can be bought only for Volume Licenses, and these are the following versions you can obtain.
● Windows 11 SE
● Windows 11 Education
● Windows 11 Enterprise
● Windows 11 Pro & Pro for Workstations
As mentioned in this article, The edition type relies on the installation method used, hence the Windows edition can be changed by altering the installation method or the license.
The following table demonstrates how changing a licensing key might modify the edition of an operating system:
Variations of Windows 11 Editions
Home
The Windows 11 Home Edition, arguably the most basic edition out there, It does take up the least amount of space on your hard drive because of this.
The majority of the time this version is installed commonly on devices from the OEM, and also this version can be commonly found in ISO Images.
This edition has the majority of features used frequently and may appear to a regular user to be just another version of Windows. However when it comes to a System & IT Admin they would miss features such as The option to join a domain, the ability to use BitLocker disc encryption, Remote Desktop Connection (RDC), Group Policy editor, etc.
Windows 11 Home Edition is suitable for Users who are preferring to keep their Home Computer to a Minimum level suitable for everyday tasks such as Browsing the Web.
Professional
This Edition has been created specifically for working professionals, it does come along with additional features that the Home version doesn’t come along with, on top of that This Edition also comes in Business Edition as well.
As a Bonus this Version also comes along with a lot of features which increases the data security & integrity.
Professional for Workstations
This Edition is pretty much the Same as the Regular Pro version, However as a Bonus it comes along with some additional features such as Resilient File System (A function that will replace the corrupted data by replacing it with the valid one, in order to protect your data), and also this version has been heavily optimised for performance.
Enterprise
Organizations, or “enterprises,” are the main target users for the Enterprise version. It has more features than the Professional edition and is only accessible through Volume Licensing (VL).
All the features found in the Professional edition are also included in this edition, along with Direct Access, Windows To Go creation, BranchCache, Start Screen Control, etc.
We also want to mention you that Enterprise Editions can be also obtained through Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), which are updated for longer periods of time than standard editions and are replaced every two to three years.
Education
This version does not carry a lot of differences from the Enterprise, But with fewer features than the Enterprise Edition.
As the name sounds, this version has been designed specifically for the Educational Sector, and this can be found to be preinstalled OEM Devices which were designed specifically for this Industry, and also this Editon can be Bought using VL.
SE
Same as the Education Edition, SE version has been also designed for the Educational Sector, but with some differences.
This version typically comes preinstalled on Microsoft Surface Devices which were designed for the educational sector.
Windows 11 SE does come with a lesser number of entertainment apps & games, inorder to improve productivity & reduce the amount of distraction.
On top of that this version also comes with few added features, such as the Office 365, and as a part of the Office 365 license, users can use Microsoft Suite programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint offline. When an active internet connection is available, these are later synchronized through the cloud.
Conclusion
These are the various Windows 11 editions that Microsoft offers.
However, we also want to mention that Microsoft also offers three more Editions other than the Editions listed here.
IOT Enterprise Edition:- A binary variant for the normal desktop enterprise edition, It’s goal is to give IoT solutions enterprise manageability and security.
N & KN editions:- These variations were created for Korea and Europe, which follow their respective laws and regulations.
