Microsoft: Surface Pro Battery Life Half That of Surface RT

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How does four hours sound?

Earlier this week, we learned that Microsoft's Surface Pro slate would finally hit stores in January of 2013. The company yesterday announced the launch date and pricing of the upcoming Surface Pro tablets. Unlike the Surface RT versions which range from $499 to $699, these Intel-based models will be more expensive and PC-like, costing consumers a meaty $899 for the standalone 64 GB version and $999 for the standalone 128 GB version. Both are scheduled to arrive on store shelves in January 2013.

However, another key difference between the Pro and RT models will be battery life. According to Microsoft, the Surface Pro will have approximately half the battery life of Surface RT. Redmond made the comment on Twitter, in response to one user asking if the company had 'any comment' on the device's battery.

In case you're not aware, the Surface RT boasts a battery that lasts up to ten hours. According to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, you're looking at between eight and 10 hours. So, for the Surface Pro, that battery is going to last between four and five hours. That's from a brand new machine. We don't even want to think what that will be reduced to after hundreds of charge cycles.

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Jane McEntegart
54 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Oh boy here we go. Let what the internets does best commence.
    Reply
  • phate
    "Battery Life Half that of Surface RT"

    That statement is completely and utterly useless without a qualification about performance.
    I'm guessing the Performance is more than twice that of the ARM tablet.
    Reply
  • rebel1280
    :( i clicked on this article cause my head translated what i wanted to see: Half Life... turns out its life half, back to boring schedule
    Reply
  • guess who
    "That statement is completely and utterly useless without a qualification about performance.
    I'm guessing the Performance is more than twice that of the ARM tablet."

    No it isn't. Only fools don't know the performance will be better. If ARM is good enough however, the power gains vs battery life trade-offs are not very good, are they?

    You don't buy a 300hp car if 150hp car works just fine for you.
    Reply
  • Onihikage
    "How does four hours sound?" Still better than my laptop, and it would get better performance. Not an issue for me.
    Reply
  • sylvez
    guess who"That statement is completely and utterly useless without a qualification about performance.I'm guessing the Performance is more than twice that of the ARM tablet."No it isn't. Only fools don't know the performance will be better. If ARM is good enough however, the power gains vs battery life trade-offs are not very good, are they?You don't buy a 300hp car if 150hp car works just fine for you.
    No. I will buy a 300hp car just because.
    You can stick to your 486s because it works just fine.
    Reply
  • dgingeri
    Um, yeah, that's one of those "duh" statements. Yeah, of course it's going to have less battery life. It uses more power. It also likely has a slightly larger battery. That sounds like pretty good battery life given the size and power of this tablet.
    Reply
  • jackbling
    guess who"That statement is completely and utterly useless without a qualification about performance.I'm guessing the Performance is more than twice that of the ARM tablet."No it isn't. Only fools don't know the performance will be better. If ARM is good enough however, the power gains vs battery life trade-offs are not very good, are they?You don't buy a 300hp car if 150hp car works just fine for you.
    car analogies never work with tech, but to continue this:

    the 150hp can only use gas from one gas station
    the 300hp can use all the old gas you have plus any other that is compatible with x86 windows 8(lol i gave up)

    I can be happy with 4 hours of solid use out of an x86 tablet; hell my ipad doesnt last much more than that gaming.
    Reply
  • Jeez, that's what my netbook got...4 years ago
    Reply
  • esrever
    This is what happens when you go intel. Atoms are purpose built to be shitty and going up the performance means a large increase in power consumption.
    Reply