It's definitely interesting. Where everyone expected a new ARM SKU, Microsoft delivered a new x86 SKU, with an easy upgrade path. Through the lens of Windows 10 S as an "educational" SKU, it's particularly interesting in that idea that you could start the device locked down with S and eventually (plus $50 one time charge) "graduate" the device to "real" Windows 10 as the people themselves age into device ownership or out of locked down education environments or the devices get repurposed for different parts of a learning environment, etc.
(This seems to be a clear case where Microsoft is trying to separate itself from the iOS/Chromebook pack. For now you can't graduate and turn an iOS device into a macOS device. With a lot of work you might be able to graduate a Chromebook to Linux or Windows, but certainly not the ease of a $50 purchase from the Windows Store, or a free button click with an existing education site license for Windows 10 Pro.)
(Meanwhile, some of us are still hoping for that next ARM SKU, too.)