Is a Surface Pro 4 a good solution for my situation?

[GreyFox7]

I am now pretty much exactly 5 hours into my random battery drain test: 50% battery left. I will note that about 1 hour of that was in sleep because I had to do some work away from my desk but, given what others have posted, that wouldn't matter much since, allegedly, sleep drains almost as much battery as when it's fully on (it doesn't). Including that hour of sleep, my projected total battery life for light use is 10 hours. If we exclude that hour of sleep where we'll assume that it did not use any battery at all (it used about 1-2%), projected total battery life after 4 hours of actual use is 8 hours.

Well, the second half is usually a bit shorter than the first half.

 

[Philtastic]

Well, I just finished work (13 hour day, woo) and, at 11:13 pm after 6h13m of being on battery (5h13m if you don't count an hour of sleep), my battery is at 32% for a projected total battery life of 9 hours (or 7.7 hours excluding sleep). In that last two hours, I did some things that were a little bit more demanding: streamed some Youtube videos and watched some neat gifs from Reddit's front page while I ate dinner. Before I shut this off and go home, here's the powercfg summary of today. Looks like there were a couple of times where I left my desk for >5 min and it went to connected standby for periods of ~5-15 min. I'll note that I have WiFi turned on for connected standby. Basically, the battery life is fine without any tweaks while using the Surface Pro 4 for light applications such as web browsing and Word while listening to music. I think I will make a new thread where people can track their real usage battery life. I'll probably continue this tracking both to convince others as well as myself that I'm actually getting 7+ hours of real usage... because, if you only read this forum, you'd think that the SP4 can only barely get 4-5 hours.

 

[FlatSurface]

Err guys. How about this?

Lenovo ThinkPad x1 Tablet

It just came out I think, or is set to come out soon. Tablet mode, 10-15 hours of battery life with the productivity expansion attached, a stylus... wow?

 

[Philtastic]

Err guys. How about this?

Lenovo ThinkPad x1 Tablet

It just came out I think, or is set to come out soon. Tablet mode, 10-15 hours of battery life with the productivity expansion attached, a stylus... wow?

Sounds like a lot of extra stuff to carry around but, if you can use the extra battery and projector, then it's definitely a valid choice.

 

[FlatSurface]

I would only need the battery pack and keyboard. Wouldn't go for the presenter or camera packs.

The standard battery life will likely be the decider for me.

 

[FlatSurface]

So I'm still on the fence, but I kind of feel good for having waited. Lenovo is bringing out a comparable device, as is Huawei. Looks like it's going to be a good year for 2-in-1s!

 

[FlatSurface]

Le Bump. Would welcome more ideas or suggestions!

 

[Yillbs]

So I'm still on the fence, but I kind of feel good for having waited. Lenovo is bringing out a comparable device, as is Huawei. Looks like it's going to be a good year for 2-in-1s!

That lenovo is a solid choice, for sure, the keys also recess when in tablet mode, to avoid any potential button smashing, early key degeneration. the Dell XSP12 is also a good competitor. The Lenovo however, is still a heavier, 2-in-1 with a non detachable screen. The Surfacepro 4 is still in a different category, no matter how you look at it. Being able to just unsnap, and walk to the couch is ideal, with a 2-in-1 flip over, you have to pick it up, flip it over, and take it over to the couch, itll be a bit heavier, and less easy to manage. That however, does not sell it short. I just think it's in a different class, and needs to compete with something like the HP 360, or , almost the surface book.

 

[FlatSurface]

Are we talking about the same Lenovo? It's not a convertible, like the Yoga, but an actual tablet.

 

[Yillbs]

Are we talking about the same Lenovo? It's not a convertible, like the Yoga, but an actual tablet.

Ah sorry, they have the tablet, and the 2-in-1 , the Yoga X1 ( Carbon ), and the x1, and the x1 carbon , i see what you mean though, you would be correct.