Windows CE (also known officially as Windows Embedded Compact post version 6.0, and sometimes abbreviated WinCE) is Microsoft 's operating system for embedded devices and minimal computers. Windows CE is a different operating system and kernel. It is not a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows.

Windows CE, also known as Windows Embedded Compact or Windows Embedded CE is an operating system developed for Windows Embedded devices. The Windows CE operating system has powered industrial, medical, and a variety of other devices for more than 20 years.

Windows CE was a modular/componentized operating system that served as the foundation of several classes of devices such as Handheld PC, Pocket PC, Auto PC, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7and more.

(Windows C onsumer E lectronics) Microsoft's earlier version of Windows for handheld devices and embedded systems that ran on x86, ARM, MIPS and SuperH CPUs. Introduced in 1996, Windows CE was renamed "Windows Embedded CE" in 2006, then "Windows Embedded Compact" in 2008, and finally Windows IoT. See Windows IoT, x86, ARM and SuperH.

Windows CE is a component-based operating system that you can use to create “mix-and-match” operating systems that provide only the functionality needed for an embedded system, thus minimizing the memory requirements of such a system.