Battery Life Hours Of Surface Pro 2?

[netuser]

On the Surface 2, Microsoft states "more than 10 hours" battery life. However, Microsoft won't do the same with the Surface Pro 2 and seem to do everything they can to avoid stating numbers of hours. Every article I found the battery life hours are not stated in any way other than saying it is X% more than before.
They like to say "75% more" or simply "'longer' battery life."
[video=youtube;TJLY4Cgk18U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJLY4Cgk18U&noredirect=1[/video]

Does anyone know why this is? They don't have any problem clearly stating 10+ hours for the Surface 2.

How much battery life can expected in the Surface Pro 2 in a range of hours rather than percentages more than the original Surface Pro?
How many total hours can be expected on the Surface Pro 2 with the extended battery keyboard?

 

[GreatWindows]

Its an ultravook not a tablet... It has haswell, look at other ultrabook battery life and there is your answer.
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 920 using Board Express

 

[Deleted member 10837]

http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/...-surface-pro-2-who-s-waiting-2.html#post36994

Surface Pro 2 battery life is 7 hours with aggressive use, not lab fudging of figures
Storage options will be 64, 128, 256 and 512GB SSD. Price for 512GB is expected to be $1,500.
Memory options include 8GB. Unsure if 4GB and 8GB offered or just 8GB.
New keyboards are backlit
Battery keyboard is confirmed, adds 3 hours to Surface Pro 2 life. This means it's probably a 20w/h battery or thereabouts. Price is $199 if I recall.
New Surface RT is called Surface 2, is 3 times as fast as Surface RT and has 1080p screen. Unsure if same screen from Surface Pro or lower spec.
New dock fits both Pro and Pro2. Uses side clamps which hook up to power, DisplayPort, and USB 3.0. Dock therefore includes Power, USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, Display out.

10 hours with the 30W Power Cover.

 

[netuser]

It just feels like they are embarrassed to plainly state it by speaking in riddles instead of posting hours the same as they did for the non-Pro Surface 2. Of course it will be "less" than the Surface 2, but just post it anyway so that is clear instead of trying to hide it. Very annoying.

You should not need do the math yourself or guess based on machines built by other vendors.
They do market The Surface Pro 2 as a tablet. If it is a touchscreen slate with an "optional" keyboard, it is a tablet.
I would actually prefer a real clamshell Ultrabook with a built-in keyboard and no touchscreen with battery life like a 13 inch Macbook Air 12+ Hours for under $1100.
Not sure why HP or Dell or Lenovo won't make an Ultrabook that matches both the battery life, build quality and size/weight of the Macbook Air that doesn't cost more.
Most "MacBook Air competitors" are both more expensive and have shorter battery life than the Apple product.
I can't find anything like that, so maybe the Surface Pro 2 plus the battery extender keyboard would be a workaround.

 

[netuser]

http://www.surfaceforums.net/forum/...-surface-pro-2-who-s-waiting-2.html#post36994




10 hours with the 30W Power Cover.

That sounds "OK." So, $900 for 64GB Surface Pro 2, plus $200 for the keyboard battery is $1100 with 10+ hours of heavy use. So, with lighter use, we should expect a bit longer time.
We only really "need" 9 hours, but we need a good amount of extra buffer to allow for battery degradation which will cut the battery life as it ages and to keep people from panicking near the end of the day when they start to get low battery warnings popping up at 4 in the afternoon.
Still pricey for only a 64GB model though.

 

[souldier]

In most cases the 4.5 battery life of my SP1 has actually been sufficient. If I had 7 hours of battery life then I'd really have more than I need. In reality, I doubt the majority of people need more than 7 hours. 10 hours is far more than enough. I feel sorry for anyone who needs to sit in front of a computer for 10 hours per day of their life.

 

[netuser]

In most cases the 4.5 battery life of my SP1 has actually been sufficient. If I had 7 hours of battery life then I'd really have more than I need. In reality, I doubt the majority of people need more than 7 hours. 10 hours is far more than enough. I feel sorry for anyone who needs to sit in front of a computer for 10 hours per day of their life.

For most people 4 to 7 hours may be enough.
We have a unique situation where we need laptops that will be used all day set up and a room that is frequently reconfigured with desks moved around based on instructor preferences and number of attendees and don't want power cables, extension cords and surge protectors strewn all over the place as an eye sore and trip hazard. There are only a few power outlets in the room. The laptops need to run wirelessly all day and then would be locked away and charged overnight before being set up again the next morning.
They don't need to be super powerful, but they need extreme battery life and need to run some legacy Windows software, not Modern UI apps from the Microsoft Store. We also don't need battery-burning 1080p screens with tiny touch points, but that's the way Microsoft makes the Surface.

I'm thinking that maybe a not-yet released Bay Trail device that supports Windows 8 Pro and keyboards and mice may be a more economical choice. I assume upcoming Bay Trail tablets will support 10+ hours of battery without requiring extra battery packs.
The only reason we may want a Haswell device instead a Bay Trail device is in case we need to run Windows 7 in a VMs to run something old like IE 8. The Atom tablets probably will not have enough memory or CPU power to run VMs. But if it turns out that we don't need VMs, then Bay Trail will be cheaper with better battery life.

 

[jnjroach]

I was at the Launch Event and was under NDA until 10:30 AM today, Me and my family were part of the launch event as one of two Families who use their Surfaces. We spent time with Panos and his team on Sunday morning and they won't say this publicly or officially but he did say they are getting 8-10 hours on the Pro 2 in regular use and the Power Cover will an additional 40%, so you could get 12 to 14 hours.

Another cool point of the Power Cover, it isn't a second battery that runs out after you've ran out the primary battery, it charges the primary so you are on the primary battery until you've ran through the Power Cover.

 

[hypokondriak]

Yeah I think the "up to" 4.5 hours for the SP1 is tough for anyone that travels. Spend ~1 hour in the airport, jump on a 3 hour flight watching movies, and suddenly you are booting up for whatever reason at your destination and needing to hunt for power ASAP. I travel a lot for work, and 4.5 hours itself just isn't enough. I feel bad for people with regular flights overseas.

I don't like having to hunt for power in airports or sit in the uncomfortable locations these things often require. I also don't like forgetting to charge the device carrying such a large penalty. You have to be on top of charging SP1 all the time, and if you slip you'll probably pay for it.

I think 75% more power will definitely get me over the edge, and if I can get 8-10 hours at times it is totally worth it to me. I'll get the stiffer type keyboard with backlight and be in hog heaven. I already love using the SP1 with keyboard folded under on my chest/belly, and I also don't have the problems others have with the SP1 in my lap so even better angles/stiffer keyboard will be even better for me.

 

[netuser]

I was at the Launch Event and was under NDA until 10:30 AM today, Me and my family were part of the launch event as one of two Families who use their Surfaces. We spent time with Panos and his team on Sunday morning and they won't say this publicly or officially but he did say they are getting 8-10 hours on the Pro 2 in regular use and the Power Cover will an additional 40%, so you could get 12 to 14 hours.

Another cool point of the Power Cover, it isn't a second battery that runs out after you've ran out the primary battery, it charges the primary so you are on the primary battery until you've ran through the Power Cover.

The disadvantage of that function is that you will not be able to stack then on shelves for storage with the keyboards attached or it will be continually draining the power cover battery trying to constantly charge the tablet battery. HP Envy X2 owners complained about that.

 

[jnjroach]

The Power Cover isn't your daily cover, it is your I'm out of the office for 14 hours or I'm traveling internationally. Type Cover is what IT will stack....

 

[netuser]

The Power Cover isn't your daily cover, it is your I'm out of the office for 14 hours or I'm traveling internationally. Type Cover is what IT will stack....

In our case, unless we can be totally confident it will always make it through a 9 hour day with only the internal battery, we would need to use the Power Covers daily if we were to choose Suface Pro 2s as the laptops used all day in training rooms. Whatever the rated battery life is when it is brand new will diminish every few months as it gets older and we will probably keep them for 4 years.