It has been round about two months since the second generation Surface lineup was officially unveiled, but the tablets only started shipping out late last month. And now Microsoft is ready to share more details on the development of the slates.
Using the refreshed slates, the most obvious feeling one gets is that they are not only faster and more powerful, but they provide a longer battery life than the original Surface models — particularly the Surface Pro 2 powered by Windows 8.1 Pro.
And this is exactly what Microsoft has decided to talk about in a new post on the official Surface blog.
Redmond says that thanks to multiple upgrades (both hardware and software), the new Surface Pro 2 is faster and better optimized than the original — higher RAM (up to 8GB) to bigger storage capacity (maximum of 512GB) and the switch to fourth generation Intel Core i5 processors all play a part.
But that’s not all. Microsoft says that it worked together with Intel to develop new Turbo control modes, and in the process completely redesigned the power delivery circuitry of the motherboard:
“In order to replace a laptop, Surface Pro 2 is furiously fast; 10 to 20 percent faster than the original Surface Pro, depending upon the amount of RAM available. And what about graphics? The Intel HD4400 GPU is 50% faster than the original Surface Pro. This performance improvement is across the board and especially apparent in graphics-intensive apps.”
The technology titan also collaborated with SSD vendors to improve the Active Idle power consumption, while at the same time tweaking the drivers to deliver optimum battery performance.
As a results of these design changes, Surface Pro 2 delivers battery life improvements of up to 75 percent, and the lithium-ion battery now lasts up to 7 hours on charge — a substantial improvement from the original Surface Pro.
And if you thought things stopped here, you would be on the opposite side of bring right. Microsoft also made sure the Surface Pro 2 is cooler and quieter, while also providing better sound with the Dolby Digital Plus technology, thereby ensuring a premium experience all around.
