Toshiba has given its Kira Ultrabook an Apple-like refresh. Everything about it stays the same as last year's model but the CPU has been changed, to Intel's 5th generation i7 "Broadwell" processor range, and the graphics are now Intel HD 5500.

Not only does this give the touchscreen 13.3-incher a performance boost, but battery life is extended through clever processor power management. Toshiba claims that the new Kira is now capable of up to 13 hours on a single charge.

That's for the Full HD version of the new laptop as you can also specify a model with a 13.3-inch PixelPure (2560 x 1440) display. That one has a claimed battery life of up to 10.45 hours.

Other specifications for this year's Kira are identical to last. It has the same Harman Kardon stereo speakers with DTS Studio Sound. You can have a solid state drive of up to 256GB of storage. And it comes with 8GB of RAM.

There are three USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI output (capable of Ultra HD), and an SD card reader. Wireless connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi.

The Toshiba Kira comes with Winodws 8.1 64-bit pre-installed for the Full HD model, Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit for the PixelPure version.

READ: Toshiba Kira (2014) review

Perhaps the most important element that is identical to last year's model is the price. It will retail from £1,299 and be available from the end of February.