Microsoft Surface Pro 2 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 21, 2013 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Surface
- Surface Pro 2
Battery Life
Surface Pro 2 retains the same 42Wh battery and 48W charger as the original Surface Pro. I wasn’t pleased at all with the battery life of the original design, and I had hoped for a significant increase in battery life with Surface Pro 2. Microsoft claims up to a 75% increase in battery life compared to the original. In our 2013 tablet battery life test that turned out to be a 40% advantage – not shabby, but not where it needs to be. Update: Microsoft issued a firmware update that brings Surface Pro 2 up to 8.33 hours of battery life in our web browsing battery life test, or 76% better than the original Surface Pro.
I’m also beginning to think that Haswell’s video decode engine may not be all that power efficient. We did see better results out of OS X, but it’s still nowhere near what’s possible on the best ARM platforms.
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doobydoo - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
What, you're comparing the old iPad (to be replaced TOMORROW) with two brand new tablets? And using that to claim that Apple's screens don't win on every test?kyuu - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Yes? You can speculate all you want on how magical the new iPad(s) will be, but they're not out now and comparing to unknown hardware is downright absurd.YuLeven - Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - link
Tomorrow has come, and the new iPad is just a thinner and lighter oversized iPod.According to my calculations, 47% better at chopping onions! And it has the Instagram app, so you can take some nice pics of your chopped onions and share with your friends!
Krysto - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Less than 7h battery? Microsoft isn't even trying anymore, is it? I tested a Surface Pro in a store recently - heavy as hell. Why would I buy a heavy tablet that's almost unusable as a tablet, and has only 7h of battery life?kyuu - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Because you want a real computer in a tablet form factor, not an oversized smartphone/ereader? Just a thought.Klimax - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
As soon as you want to do little more then just wasting time?vanZilch - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Why comparing surface pro 2 with ipad and android tablets? Doesn't make any sense because... Aren't surface pro 2 more like laptop in a comparison?Kevin G - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
Because the Surface Pro is more of a hybrid design with a tablet form factor and ULV laptop parts on the inside. It is fair comparison to make against both platforms, especially to see if it is the best of both world, the jack of all trades or the master of none.Krysto - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
I love how Anand keeps telling us that "the next Surface" or "next Intel processor" will be so much better and awesome. And yet it never happens. Why? Because the competition beats them by a large margin that year, too.We've seen it now with the Surface Pro, and we've already seen it with Bay Trail in the T100, which barely competes with last year's chip.
Pro-tip for Anand: maybe you shouldn't try so hard promoting these things a WHOLE YEAR until you actually review them, while knowing very little about them other than the bullshit press releases Intel and Microsoft are sending you.
Sending press releases saying how awesome your new product will be and being misleading without giving all the information, is easy. Actually delivering it against the competition at the time, is the hard part.
at80eighty - Monday, October 21, 2013 - link
it's pretty funny; anand gets bashed in the same thread by people for being pro apple and pro MS at the same time apparently. quite the feat