It's been 4 months, 5th Surface 2 and still getting 6.5 hours of web browsing

[borka105]

I'm still torn on accepting that this is normal for an RT tablet especially when my wife's iPad gets an additional 3-3.5 hours more.

I've gone thru quite a few Surface 2 because of hardware issues (speakers, glue issue, kick stand Issue, etc.) The battery life has been the same on all of them.

Those that use their Surface mainly for web browsing can you confirm the same results?

Thanks!

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I'm still torn on accepting that this is normal for an RT tablet especially when my wife's iPad gets an additional 3-3.5 hours more.

I've gone thru quite a few Surface 2 because of hardware issues (speakers, glue issue, kick stand Issue, etc.) The battery life has been the same on all of them.

Those that use their Surface mainly for web browsing can you confirm the same results?

Thanks!

I'm getting about 7-8 hours on my Surface 2. Very much less than the 12-14 hours I get on my iPad 4.

 

[malberti1993]

The iPad doesn't power a keyboard so you have to account if u are using the keyboard. This is off topic but I noticed to fix the standby battery drain and if you have a type cover installed. To put the device to sleep, just close the cover and not use the power button. I noticed by getting used to this and saving my button wear, my standby battery life has improved tremendously.

 

[kristalsoldier]

I'm still torn on accepting that this is normal for an RT tablet especially when my wife's iPad gets an additional 3-3.5 hours more.

I've gone thru quite a few Surface 2 because of hardware issues (speakers, glue issue, kick stand Issue, etc.) The battery life has been the same on all of them.

Those that use their Surface mainly for web browsing can you confirm the same results?

Thanks!

Well, I face a similar situation if I am browsing only. But this is because apparently the Surface 2 machines are optimized for video playback and not necessarily for web browsing. You can see a specific reference to this ("Up to 10 hours video playback") on the spec-sheet of the Surface 2 on the MS product pages (see here: Surface 2- The 10 inch tablet with Office). Interestingly, I noticed that the spec sheet of the Surface Pro 3 (the new release) specifically says "Up to 9 hours of web browsing" (see here: Surface Pro 3 - The tablet that can replace your laptop.).

I have resigned myself to this fact now. And, since I will be getting myself the SP3 shortly, I am not very concerned about it any more.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

The iPad doesn't power a keyboard so you have to account if u are using the keyboard.

I should've included that the battery life I posted was including the use of a Logitech ultrathin bluetooth keyboard cover. I use my tablets a lot... including blogging, writing, producing podcast episodes, and presentations. Keyboards are constantly in use.

This is off topic but I noticed to fix the standby battery drain and if you have a type cover installed. To put the device to sleep, just close the cover and not use the power button. I noticed by getting used to this and saving my button wear, my standby battery life has improved tremendously.

That only resolves one of the standby battery drain issues. There are approximately 3 or 4 different scenarios where the Surface fails to enter connected standby.

 

[malberti1993]

I recently just charged my surface to 90 percent and been using it for 3 days for around 2 hours each day. Surfed the web and played some gta andright now it is at 45 percent. Battery life is really good. That is using it with the type cover 2 and brightness at less than half.

 

[Cruncher04]

I am getting around 8h of web browsing on a single charge. Sometimes a bit more. I assume it depends on how much flash stuff is running, which apparently drains the battery faster. Of course the iPad not supporting flash has an advantage here.
Besides Apple A7 is an excellent SoC for tablets and phones.