New UL Procyon Battery Life Benchmark for Windows PCs

Today we are releasing a new addition to the UL Procyon benchmarking suite for professional users. The UL Procyon Battery Life Benchmark measures the practical battery life of Windows laptops, notebooks and tablets across a range of real-world scenarios. The first two scenarios—Video Playback and Idle—are available now, with further scenarios and cross-platform support for Apple Mac computers coming later this year.

UL Procyon Battery Life Benchmark 

A laptop's battery life depends on how you use it, but a lack of standardized approaches for battery life benchmarking means many manufacturers favor methods that produce eye-catching battery life claims that end-users are unlikely to see in real-world use.

The shift to hybrid and remote working has also increased the importance of battery life benchmarking in the enterprise sector. IT managers need to provide employees with PCs that are suitable for their work in the office and in remote locations while striking a balance between performance, portability and battery life.

A better way to benchmark battery life 

The UL Procyon Battery Life Benchmark continues the Battery Life Profile concept we pioneered in PCMark 10. Instead of producing a single number, the UL Procyon Battery Life Profile provides a broad view of battery life across different scenarios. 

The Procyon Battery Life Benchmark launches with two popular scenarios: Video Playback and Idle. Further scenarios are already in development, and cross-platform support for Apple Mac computers is coming later this year. 

The Video Playback scenario uses the Microsoft Films & TV app (known as Movies & TV in the U.S.) that is included with Windows. The benchmark measures battery life by playing an HD video file continuously in full-screen mode until the battery is empty.

The Idle scenario measures battery life when the PC isn’t performing any active tasks. The screen is kept on but there is no other activity. This scenario produces the upper limit of a system's battery life profile.

Available now

UL Procyon is a suite of benchmark tests for professional users in industry, enterprise, government, retail and press roles. Each Procyon benchmark is designed for a specific use case and uses real applications where possible.

The UL Procyon benchmark suite has flexible licensing that lets you pick and choose the individual benchmarks that best meet your needs. You can buy just one benchmark or add more in any combination.

A single-seat license for the UL Procyon Battery Life Benchmark starts at $495 (USD) per year. You can also license the Video Playback and Idle scenarios individually. Please contact us for details.

Find out more about UL Procyon benchmarks.