Microsoft intended to strengthen its foothold in the budget laptop segment with the Windows 10 S. The “S” moniker reintroduced the Windows in a sandboxed environment and traded the openness of the platform for a more secure and fast operating system. Microsoft has been playing safe right from the beginning and thus offered a free upgrade to full version of Windows 10 for the Windows 10 S users. Now, Microsoft is reportedly repositioning the Windows 10 S such that it fits better into its array of offerings.

According to a new report, the Windows 10 S will no longer be offered as a standalone product and is likely to be integrated as an “S-Mode” feature for Windows 10 Home and Pro. With the “S-Mode” switched on, your Windows 10 can be converted to Windows 10 S and thus you will be able to reap all the benefits of the “S” variant without having to change the operating system. That being said, the switch to S-Mode and vice versa will still be dependent on whether or not the OEM’s ship their device with the new mode enabled.

In a nutshell, Microsoft will stop offering the Windows 10 S as a standalone product and will include the S Mode for all iterations of Windows 10. For instance, the users will be able to upgrade from Home S to the Home for free. However, they may have to pay $49 extra for upgrading to Pro. Interestingly, Microsoft also mentions that there will be AV/Security apps in S- Mode. This announcement makes little sense since the very premise of S Mode is to achieve better performance by not allowing third-party apps.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has been inadvertently suggesting an “S-Mode”, especially after they announced a budget lineup for frontline workers. The same intentions have been put forth by the Redstone 4 internal roadmap thus suggesting S-Mode for all SKUs of Windows.