Updated Surface pro 2 battery life...from anand tech

[raxy21]

With updated firmware of SP2,battery life of SP2 increased from 6hours to 8hours,even the video playback time has increased.

Link:AnandTech | Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Review

 

[crash1989]

:O .. that's so cool ... Broadwell can't come soon enough

 

[thekeeblerelf]

Why they still do side-by-side comparisons between a Surface Pro 2 and iPad/random Android tablets is beyond me, though.

 

[raxy21]

Why they still do side-by-side comparisons between a Surface Pro 2 and iPad/random Android tablets is beyond me, though.

yes,its dumb, but if an Intel core processor could achieve the similar battery life of an ARM processor it will be killer.

 

[AngryNil]

:O .. that's so cool ... Broadwell can't come soon enough

I think the battery life is "good enough" now. Hopefully they can slim down the device with Broadwell.

 

[raxy21]

I think the battery life is "good enough" now. Hopefully they can slim down the device with Broadwell.

yes, they need to make surface pro3 similar to surface 2 in all aspects like weight,and chassis and finish.

 

[inteller]

yes,its dumb, but if an Intel core processor could achieve the similar battery life of an ARM processor it will be killer.

what is more dumb is the bloggers on this site continue to run with that discussion. IT'S A FRICKIN PC with battery life better than some ARM tablets. NONE of those that are better battery can run millions of legacy apps.

compare to other hybrid PCs, but don't compare to toys.

 

[MBytes]

Exactly.. or they assume it's a laptop.. so they compare with system that is 90% battery, 10% circuit board, where due to their size, it's normal that it has more battery life.
It's not a laptop, it's not a tablet... it's a device on it's own. If anything, at least we can accept being compared with convertible laptops, which are much slower, shorter battery life, cheaper quality, than the Surface Pro 2, making it teh SP2 a better buy (not to mention that the SP2 is smaller, and uses an IPS panel, and not some ****ty TN panel, at Windows 8 minimum screen resolution (1376 x 768))

 

[Jake52]

So if I have a new Surface Pro 2, do I already have the updated firmware? Does anyone know how to check the firmware version?

 

[MBytes]

So if I have a new Surface Pro 2, do I already have the updated firmware? Does anyone know how to check the firmware version?

Most likely not. Products are made in very large batches and then shipped. That is why, for example, we have to wait until Dec 15 for the Surface Pro 2 256GB model, to come again at Microsoft online Store. And even then, I don't think it will have this latest firmware, as they already manufactured a large block of them. I don't know if Microsoft will instruct the manufacturing plants to apply a new image of the Surface Pro 2 with this new firmware or simply have it added on the following batch, which will be probably later on, in 2014.

Simply check for Windows updates, and you'll see if you have the update or not.

 

[DalekSnare]

Surface pro 2 256gb might be faster than Dec 15, it said that when I preordered and it came yesterday. Who knows when type cover 2 will be available though.

 

[jfourman]

I received my SP2 on launch day. Within a few days, Windows Update installed a firmware update. I was surprised that Windows Update would have a firmware release as I thought WU only offered Windows OS and app releases. I assume that this is the update to which Anand Tech is referring. I'll be glad to report my firmware version if someone tells me where to look. I find a "firmware" in Device Manager; but I don't know which device reports the one we want to compare.

 

[Jake52]

Yeah, I'm also not sure how to check the firmware. I see in Windows Update that there is a listing for "System Firmware Update 10/24/2013." Maybe this is the firmware that AnandTech tested? It would be nice to know for sure.

 

[christenmartin]

Is this article in line with what SP2 owners are seeing? I have a S2 and it does way better than stated here.

 

[Doctor Pork]

It seems that you can squeeze out more battery life if needed, I guess that with the power reductions of Haswell, the test is more display limited, and then you can likely get a few extra hours just by using a lower brightness.

Surface Pro 2 - Light Use Battery Test

 

[AngryNil]

yes, they need to make surface pro3 similar to surface 2 in all aspects like weight,and chassis and finish.

Yeah, that would be killer.

 

[vipkl]

That would be great. But seeing as SP2 came out 9 months after SP1, I kinda hope they won't accelerate to an even faster upgrade cadence, like, say having SP3 out 6 months from now...

Afraid of buyer's remorse after splurging on several SP2 units for the family...

 

[Doctor Pork]

No need to worry as Intel has to have broadwell ready before Microsoft can update the surface pro significantly. That should take about a year.

 

[MBytes]

Listen, you'll always have better. If you custom build desktop computers, it's even worse. Every 3 to 6 month AMD or Nvidia will release a new product.
In May, Nvidia released a graphic card, AMD released a new graphic card series right after, Nvidia released a new card model just now, for November as a reply to AMD latest graphic card, and Nvidia will release a new graphic card series early 2014! In fact, it was supposed to be released in December, and got delayed, based on their roadmap.

Competition is really high in the graphic card space, with both company starting to work on a new graphic card years before their released (takes a long time to develop), and have new models and architectures every few months. If you wait, you'll wait indefinitely, as you'll always have something better. This is the time wait you need to pause, and think, by asking your question to yourself: "what do I need?” We know that Broadwell, target goal for power consumption, is 10W. Meaning that Microsoft will have 2 choices: either make the device thinner, and cause problem with their new dock station, which, let’s be honest, is ones of those massive profit bringing accessories, like all OEMs, due to their high price. While they COULD do it, new plastic molds, and certification of the new dock, (takes multiple try with the manufacture to get it right), will cost millions, loosing whatever profit they got from the SP1/SP2 dock so far... assuming they got their money back so far, and actually gaining profit, and not continue to pay off the R&D, and molding cost, and all that. OR, keep it the same size, and have a bit longer battery life, which is also a complain. Sure the CPU will be marginally faster and the Intel integrated graphic card will be faster, but then again, due to their target goal of 10W, and not the same as Haswell, it means that it will be marginally faster. Perhaps, at best, similar to the HD 5000 models, being generous here. Intel competition is ARM. ARM isn’t faster than Intel offering in the Core I space. They have no push or need to make things faster, beside their GPU. There is not hard competition to get products out the door. People still buy their products. It’s not AMD has anything in the tablet space. It’s either ARM or you can’t run x86 programs or use Intel Core I series for running x86 demanding program with decent performance (unlike Atom).

If there would be a change, at least in 6 month time, it would be the cameras being the Surface 2 one, and Surface 2 connectors... yay?! Do we really care about this?

 

[Naturewriter]

Hi everyone,

On October 25, I visited my local Microsoft store and came away with an SP2 256gb. I only intended to place an order and hope for early delivery, but the manager said that the customer who had ordered the unit failed to pick it up, so the manager sold it to me. A representative said that they had a number of SP2 256 gb units available since launch day. I haven't a clue why the Microsoft site shows a date of 12/15 but I was able to buy one much earlier.

Enjoy the day