Galaxy Tab S2 vs iPad Air 2 vs Xperia Z4 Tablet specs comparison

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Galaxy Tab S2 vs iPad Air 2 vs Xperia Z4 Tablet specs comparison
Samsung just put the slumbering tablet competition into overdrive, releasing the world's thinnest tablets, the Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7, each measuring the incredible 5.6mm thin, and weighing just 265g and 389g, respectively. Those two will be competing directly with slates that are a bit thicker, but no less impressive, like Apple's iPad Air 2 and Sony's Xperia Z4 Tablet.

This is why took a look at what the S2 9.7 has to offer, comparing it head-on with Apple's and Sony's finest for the moment, as these are the three tablets people are likely to be musing over in the coming months when in the market for a slate. Designwise, the trio of tablets looks exquisite, with the Samsung and Apple slates donning a metal body, while Sony keeps things soft and touchy. The Xperia Z4 Tablet has one very important reason not to go the aluminum alloy way, though, as it is IP68-certified for watching movies in the bathtub, while the metal-clad slates can't brag with any extra waterproofing to speak of.

The overall dimensions of the Samsung and Apple tablets are strikingly similar, save for the thinner chassis on the Tab S2, while Sony has the tallest slate. Granted, it is hosting the largest screen of the bunch, too, but that's not the only reason, as the worst screen-to-body ration of the trio shows that Sony has gone with thicker bezels, compared to the other two, to make holding its tablet more comfortable.

For that matter, the Xperia Z4 Tablet has a much higher pixel density than the other two, with its 2560x1600 pixels screen. Not only that, but Sony has equipped it with one of its power-sipping, yet ultrabright panels, making the display on the Xperia tablet the best of the bunch in these two important aspects. When it comes to the silicon inside, all three are capable warriors, with Apple's desktop-grade A8+ chipset taking the cake from the Exynos 5433 in the Tab S2 and the Snapdragon 810 in the Z4 Tablet, and eating it with much better benchmark scores. Samsung and Sony are more generous with their internal storage allotments, plus they offer microSD slots for expansion. 

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Last but not least, Sony claims 17 hours of video-watching on a charge, and, considering what it does with its phones now, consistently placing them in our top battery life ranks, we'd wager to bet that the Z4 Tablet bests both the iPad Air 2, and the Galaxy Tab S2 when it comes to endurance on a charge. Which one is your favorite so far, given that they are all hitting very similar price points when storage amounts are evened out?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7-inch Apple iPad Air 2 Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet

Design

Dimensions
9.34 x 6.65 x 0.22 inches
237.3 x 169 x 5.6 mm
9.45 x 6.67 x 0.24 inches
240 x 169.5 x 6.1 mm
10.00 x 6.57 x 0.24 inches
254 x 167 x 6.1 mm
Weight
13.83 oz (392.0 g) 15.41 oz (437.0 g) 13.86 oz (393.0 g)
Materials
Back: Metal Back: Aluminum Back: Stainless steel
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control
Colors
Gold, Gray, Silver Black, White
Phone functionality
Yes

Display

Size
9.7-inch 9.7-inch 10.1-inch
Resolution
2048x1536px, 264 PPI 2048x1536px, 264 PPI 1600x2560px, 299 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED IPS LCD TFT
Screen-to-body
72.71 % 71.65 % 66.35 %
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216 16 777 216
Features
Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor

Hardware

System chip
Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 5433 (20 nm) Apple A8X Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 MSM8994
Processor
Octa-core
1900 MHz
ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53
Triple-core
1500 MHz
Cyclone
Octa-core
2000 MHz
ARM Cortex-A57 and ARM Cortex-A53
GPU
Mali-T760 MP6 PowerVR GXA6850 Adreno 430
RAM
3GB (LPDDR3) 2GB (LPDDR3) 3GB
Internal storage
64GB 128GB 32GB, available to use: 20 GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 128 GB
OS
Android (7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow, 5.0 Lollipop) iOS (13.x, 12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x) Android (7.1 Nougat, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow, 5.0 Lollipop)

Battery

Capacity
5870 mAh 7340 mAh 6000 mAh
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
8 MP (Autofocus) 8 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal length: 31 mm
8.1 MP (Autofocus)
Video recording
2560x1440 (QHD), 1920x1080 (Full HD), 1280x720 (HD), 640x480 (VGA)
EIS, Video calling, Video sharing
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling
1920x1080 (Full HD)
Front
2.1 MP 1.2 MP, Video capture: 1280x720 (HD) (30 fps) 5.1 MP

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.1 4.0 4.1
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 Lightning microUSB, USB 2.0
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BeiDou
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers) Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers)
Other
Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop NFC, ANT+, SyncML, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Loudspeaker Multiple speakers Earpiece, Multiple speakers
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share TV-out DLNA,MHL
Radio
FM
Additional microphone(s)
Yes

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 17(700 b), 20(800 DD), 28(700 APT)
4G (TDD)
Bands 40(2300)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSPA, HSUPA LTE, HSPA, UMTS LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM
VoLTE
Yes

Phone Features

Notifications
Flight mode, Silent mode Flight mode, Silent mode Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3, AAC), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice commands, Voice recording Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Jun 05, 2015
FCC ID value: A3LSMT715
Date approved: Oct 16, 2014
FCC ID value: BCGA1566
Measured SAR
Head: 0.69 W/kg
Body: 1.08 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 829
In The Box
Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter

Availability

Officially announced
Jul 20, 2015 Oct 16, 2014 Mar 02, 2015


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