Microsoft Is Really Scared Of ChromeBooks In Businesses And Schools

Microsoft first revealed its concerns about Chromebooks in an attack on Google's laptops more than three years ago. Although Chromebooks have not become the best-sellers for consumers yet, they have begun to be popular among students in the United States and little by little with some companies. Microsoft is revealing that it is concerned about this threat with two new videos on its Windows YouTube channel today.

The first promises that Windows 10 "surpasses" Chrome OS for businesses, with features such as Windows Ink, Cortana, Windows Hello and Microsoft Edge. Interestingly, Microsoft is not positioning its new operating system Windows 10 S as its alternative to Chrome OS, but is using the version of Windows 10 Pro for comparisons. In the second video, Microsoft highlights Sway, Windows Ink and security through Windows Hello. Some of these comparisons are reasonable between Windows 10 and Chrome OS, but in general these videos only show that Microsoft has much to fear from Chrome OS.

No wonder Microsoft has new concerns about Chromebooks. While Apple claims that the iPad Pro could replace its Windows laptop, Google is gradually doing that with a range of low-cost notebooks. Google Chrome OS is the biggest threat to the existence of Windows right now, simply because Google's business model is devices that are cheap to buy and easy to use. Apple's costly tablet model in schools and businesses has not taken off yet, with iPad sales dropping.

Google also offers its G range of online text processing, email and other applications that compete directly with Microsoft Office. These are free for schools, and relatively low cost for companies to adopt as well. Google may also have helped the PC market grow for the first time in five years. Chromebooks also beat Macs for the first time in the United States last year, prompting Microsoft to focus on Windows 10 S and other efforts for schools.