Microsoft this week announced a new "Battery Limit" feature (via OnMSFT) for its Surface devices that is aimed at helping them maintain their ability to hold a charge after being connected to external power for long periods of time. Initially available for the Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4, the feature will eventually roll out to further Surface devices in future firmware updates.
The main goal for this feature is to assist in maintaining battery reliability in settings where a Surface may be used in things like kiosks and consoles, where the Surface device is rarely removed from a power source. Microsoft explains:
The new Battery Limit feature of Surface devices from Surface Pro 3 forward addresses these situations by providing a UEFI setting that instructs the battery controller to limit total charge to a maximum 50%. Enabling the setting preserves the battery's ability to take and hold a charge while it's connected to external power for an extended period of time and is recommended for Surface devices integrated into solutions like kiosks, consoles, and other scenarios where they are constantly connected to an external power supply.
Battery Limit Mode can be enabled via the Surface UEFI settings under the "Boot configuration" option.
