UL Procyon Battery Life Benchmark

Procyon® Battery Life Benchmark

Measure the real-world battery life of laptop and notebook PCs

The Procyon Battery Life Benchmark continues the Battery Life Profile concept that UL Solutions 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 including video playback, idle, and office productivity.

We currently have three scenarios: video playback, idle and office productivity. We are already developing more scenarios and will introduce multi-platform support later in 2023.

Features

  • Measure real-world PC battery life.
  • Compare battery life profiles of devices.
  • Run tests from the UI or the command line.
  • Export results as Excel, XML or PDF files.
  • Simple to setup and run. Can be used offline.
  • Screen brightness calibration tool.

Relevant results

Accurately and consistently measuring PC battery life can prove challenging because battery life depends on how you use the device. The Procyon Battery Life Benchmark measures battery life for a range of real-world scenarios.

Designed for professionals

We created the Procyon Battery Life Benchmark for enterprise IT managers, retailers and press reviewers who need relevant, standardized tools for accurately and consistently measuring the battery life of Windows laptops, notebooks and tablets.

Easy to use

The benchmark is easy to install and run—no complicated configuration required. Run the benchmark from the graphical UI or via the command line. View benchmark scores in the app or export detailed result files for further analysis.

A better way to benchmark battery life


A laptop’s battery life depends on how you use it. Some activities are more intensive than others and will drain the battery faster. Screen brightness settings, power saving features and other optimizations can also significantly extend or reduce the battery life for different tasks.

Bar chart comparing the Procyon battery life profiles of two laptop computers Video and idle scenario battery life comparison scores from the UL Procyon Battery Life Benchmark

The most recent scenario, office productivity, can further enhance this battery life benchmarking data’s consistency and reliability with its ability to take screen brightness into account. The graph below uses data from our battery life benchmark, illustrating how screen brightness on a PC can vary depending on user preference and could impact scoring.

Bar chart comparing the Procyon battery life brightness Screen calibration data results from the office productivity scenario from Procyon Battery Life Benchmark

Video Playback

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 in full-screen mode until the battery is empty.

Idle

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

Office productivity

The office productivity scenario uses Microsoft Office applications to simulate a working day. The benchmark uses Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook to run workloads in a loop and can factor in different screen brightness levels. The score is measured in minutes of battery life.

For enterprise IT


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

The Procyon Battery Life Benchmarks gives IT teams practical battery life measurements for a range of real-world scenarios.

For retailers


Retailers use benchmarking data from UL Solutions at the point of sale to help their customers make informed purchases.

PC manufacturers can favor battery life claims that end users are unlikely to see in real-world use. Retailers can improve customer satisfaction by applying Procyon Battery Life Benchmarks to a device’s practical, real-world battery life for various scenarios.

For reviewers


A lack of standardized approaches for battery life benchmarking across the industry means end-users have a hard time comparing the battery life of different devices.

The Procyon Battery Life Benchmark helps reviewers measure PC battery life accurately and consistently for a range of real-world scenarios. A Procyon battery life profile provides a more useful way of comparing models than a single figure.

UL Procyon Battery Life Benchmark

Buy now

Get Quote Reviewer license

From $995 per year

  • Annual single-seat license for Procyon Battery Life Benchmark.
  • Priority support via email and telephone.

Also available

Flexible licensing lets you pick and choose the individual UL Procyon benchmarks that best meet your needs. You can buy just one benchmark or add more in any combination. Contact us for a quote.

Minimum system requirements

OS Windows 10, 64-bit
Processor Dual-core CPU
Memory 4 GB
Storage 5 GB

Ready for Windows 11

The Procyon benchmarking suite is compatible with Windows 11.

Ready for Windows on Arm

The Procyon Battery Life Benchmark is compatible with Always Connected PCs powered by Arm processors.

Required applications

Microsoft Films & TV (Movies & TV in the U.S.) Microsoft Office: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook

Applications not included. You must install and activate licensed versions of the required applications on every system you plan to test.

Support

Latest version 1.2 | May 4, 2023

Languages

  • English
  • German
  • Japanese
  • Portuguese (Brazil)
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Spanish