Microsoft has unveiled its updated Windows 8.1 tablet device for the prosumer and promises that there are plenty of improvements that make it a much more attractive proposition to last year's model. But just how much more attractive?

Pocket-lint takes a look at the stand-out features of both tablets in order to help you make your mind up should you opt for a new Surface Pro device.

Price point

The original Surface Pro is still available to buy until 22 October at a reduced rate. At present that is £639 for the 64GB model, £719 for the 128GB Surface Pro. The Surface Pro 2 will be £80 more expensive than that, starting with the 64GB edition for £719.

Power under the hood

The Surface Pro comes with a third-generation Intel Core i5 processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000 and 4GB of RAM. That has been boosted to a fourth-generation Intel Core i5 "Haswell" processor in the Surface Pro 2, with Intel HD Graphics 4400. It is also available with 8GB of RAM on the models with more storage - from 256GB and up.

Microsoft claims, therefore, that it performs 20 per cent faster this time around.

Display

The display is identical on each - no upgrades there. It is a 10.6-inch 1920 x 1080 ClearType Full HD screen with 10-point multitouch.

Battery life

Oddly, both models have the exact same battery inside: 4,200mAh. However, presumably thanks to better battery management, Microsoft claims that the Surface Pro 2 offers up to 60 per cent longer battery life than the original Surface Pro.

Windows 8.1

When you buy a Surface Pro 2 it will come with Windows 8.1 already installed. But as the self-same operating system will become available as a free download for the original Pro too, that shouldn't be a game changer for those with a bit of time on their hands.

Conclusion

To be honest, apart from a few boosts, such as battery management and the processing performance, little else has changed in the Surface Pro refresh. Even the measurements and weight are listed the same in Microsoft's official specifications: 27.46 x 17.30 x 1.35mm and 0.907kg.

However, an £80 disparity is not much, so you will probably want the latest model as it is more likely to run ever increasingly resource-heavy third-party software. And the new accessories will also match the Surface Pro 2.