Microsoft To Update Surface Pro 2 With Haswell, More RAM And A ‘Refined’ Two-Position Kickstand

NeoWin’s Brad Sams notes that Microsoft’s Surface Pro is pitched to be do-all, go-anywhere device, blending a powerful laptop with the flexibility of a tablet, but while it looked great on paper, it has suffered from short battery life, and its Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none persona. However, Sams says the next generation of the Surface is projected to arrive around the launch of Windows 8.1 this fall upgraded with Intel’s power-sipping Haswell Core i5 CPUs, RAM doubled 4GB to 8GB, and a “refined” the kickstand. The Haswell silicon upgrade should help to boost the the Pro’s battery life, although with it running the full desktop Windows 8.1, its won’t be able to match the iPad’s unplugged endurance.

WinSuperSite’s Paul Thurrott reports that the Microsoft Surface Pro 2 running Intel’s latest Haswell-based Core i5 CPUs will be rated at up to 7 hours of battery life, compared to 5 hours for the original, and look identical to the current Surface Pro, although it will ship with an integrated two-position kickstand.