Windows 8.1, released to manufacturers in August 2013 and to consumers in October 2013, was the first major update to Windows 8. In comparison with the first updates, known as Service Packs, to previous editions of Windows, many of Windows 8.1's changes involve tweaking some of the new user interface features introduced with Windows 8. Any changes in performance with the upgrade are thus largely about how intuitive the user interface is, rather than actual changes to the way the hardware performs -- though tablet computers may be an exception.
The most notable changes with Windows 8.1 are the addition of a Start button in the desktop interface, along with the ability to run and display four, rather than two, applications at once when using the tiled interface -- though this is subject to your screen resolution. The update also allows you to change settings so that Windows automatically boots directly into the desktop interface. Windows 8.1 also adds more options to the Settings app in the tiled interface, meaning you should be less likely to have to go to the full Control Panel to make a particular change.
While the effects of user interface changes on individual users vary depending on how they use their computers, Windows 8.1 is a special case as the changes it brings may feel particularly productive for people who were used to Windows 7 and have struggled to adjust to the Windows 8 interface changes. While reviews vary, a common theme is that the update to Windows 8.1 may make the system slightly easier to use on standard computers, but brings a more significant and noticeable improvement to people using touchscreen computers.
Directly comparing the performance of two editions of Windows is extremely difficult. To make the comparison, you need either two identical machines running the different editions, or install one version of Windows on a computer, run the tests, and then install the other version on the same computer and run the tests again. With Windows 8.1 being mainly a user interface update, few if any mainstream sources have run benchmarking tests to compare 8 and 8.1. However, an independent user posted the results of his own testing on YouTube, in which he found that Windows 8.1 was slightly slower than Windows 8 to boot up and shut down, and that Windows 8.1 had slightly worse performance than Windows 8 in handling 3D graphics. Overall, though, his figures showed little notable performance differences between the systems.
On tablet computers, it appears that although the update to Windows 8.1 does not in itself change performance, it can allow hardware to work better. This is because Microsoft worked with hardware manufacturers when developing the update, fine-tuning it to make the most of the hardware. AMD, which produces the processors in many Windows-based tablets, claims users who upgrade their tablet from Windows 8 to 8.1 should see a 9.5 percent performance improvement.
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