Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet Review

Introduction

After releasing the thinnest, lightest 10" slate last year with the Tablet Z, now Sony unleashes on the unsuspecting masses another svelte boomerang with the Xperia Z2 Tablet, that takes those same superlatives away from its predecessor. It also adds a much more powerful processor, and an improved display. Moreover, Sony again managed to keep the tablet waterproof, and with IP58 certification at that, so let's dive five feet deep into Sony's newest Android KitKat slate.

In the box

• Wall charger
• MicroUSB cable
• Warranty and information leaflets

Design

The thinnest, lightest 10” tablet is an engineering marvel with pretty looks and waterproof design

Clocking in at the breathtaking 0.25" (6.4mm) girth, the Xperia Z2 Tablet is the slimmest tablet out there, almost as thick as its microUSB port. It is also the lightest of them 10" slates, weighing only 15 ounces (426g) for the Wi-Fi model, and 15.5 ounces (439g) for LTE/3G model. For comparison, the Tablet Z predecessor is 6.9mm thin, and weighs 17.46 oz (495 g), while the venerable iPad Air is 7.5 mm, and with 16.86 oz (478 g) of weight, respectively. Couple the compact and feathery chassis with the IP58 certification, and the Z2 Tablet becomes one of the most well-engineered mobile devices out there. You can dunk it in up to 5 feet (1.5m) of water for more than an hour, and it won't skip a beat. Just make sure the protective port flaps are firmly closed when you lie in the bathtub, binge-watching Game of Thrones, or indulging in some other geeky pleasure.

Sony's slate, however, is much wider than its main competitors – the iPad Air, and the Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1. It immediately becomes clear why the Z2 Tablet is 10.47” (266mm) wide, and Samsung's tablet, which has a screen of the same size, is 9.57” (243mm), while the iPad Air is 9.45” (240mm) wide. It all went in the unwieldy side bezel, which is so large that makes the 10” display look smaller than it is, much like a picture frame. On the positive side, as it makes the tablet very comfortable to hold, with plenty of space to rest your thumbs on without touching the display. Also, since the tablet is so thin and light, you can easily just hold it with one hand, as there's this wide area for the opposing thumb to grip the slate firmly into place. Thus, the thick side bezel is not aesthetically pleasing, but since it brings added comfort when working with the Z2 Tablet, we are willing to let it slide. The firm grip is also aided by the soft-touch plastic material that Sony used for the back. The rear, however, smudges very easily if your fingers are even a bit oily, wet or sweaty, so you won't look as cool in Starbucks, as when you are holding an aluminum iPad Air, for instance, but you are not that shallow, right? Right?

Sony used its OmniBalance design language, with the signature circular power key, creating a well-crafted slate with soft edges. That same key is one of the remarks we have about the side buttons, as it feels rather wobbly under your finger. It is positioned very well when you hold the tablet in portrait mode, though. The key goes under the first phalanx of your thumb, so it's within an easy reach, yet it's not right under your thumb tip, so you can't press it accidentally. The metallic volume rocker underneath it feels sturdier, but is too thin, and harder to find and press without looking, plus the tactile feedback is rather shallow. At the top left side of the frame you can find the microUSB port, and the memory card slot, which are covered with protective flaps. Those flaps fit very tightly, and are so flush with the side that if they weren't marked, you might be looking around for them for quite some time. The tablet will keep reminding you to close them if they are left open, or else all waterproof bets are off. Sony's tablet flaunts four stereo speakers on the sides (in two by two format), which are situated in a way that prevents you from covering them with your palm when you hold the tablet in landscape mode.

Display

With a new Color LED technology the 1080p display looks bright and vivid, though its pixel density and reflectance leave something to be desired

Sony is using a new LED display technology for the 10.1” 1920x1200 pixels IPS screen on the Xperia Z2 Tablet. Called Live Color LED, it uses red and green phosphor with blue LEDs, and has tailored color filters on top, that are said to produce brighter and more evenly-spread lighting. The end result should be more vibrant colors on the display, yet without the accompanying oversaturation of OLED screens, for instance. That is indeed the case with the Z2 Tablet, as its Triluminos panel shows vivid, somewhat unrealistic colors, which still aren't gaudy to look at. The 6664 Kelvins temperature is very close to the reference point (6500K), so white is spot on.

Some may scoff at the 223ppi pixel density, given that we have high-end Samsung slates with 1600p screens. Still, the Z2 Tablet's 1200p is more than enough for most purposes. The issue with the display is not the pixel density, but rather its high light reflectance ratio – the mirror-like effect is constant, and especially annoying if you use the tablet outdoors, despite the decent 414 nits peak brightness. The IPS panel's viewing angles are very good, and overall the screen of the Z2 Tablet is an improvement over its predecessor, if not in resolution, then in image quality.

Interface and functionality

Sony's Small Apps suite of hovering windows is a fine way to multitask

Sony uses its Xperia interface on top of Android 4.4.2 KitKat. It's an OK overlay, but doesn't offer extra multitasking functions like Samsung's Multi Window, or LG's Dual Window modes, which are very useful on a tablet. In order to achieve differentiation, Sony bets on a few branded apps, like the Walkman music player, or the Timescape social aggregator widget, and that's about it.

There isn't much difference from the previous Xperia UI iterations and Sony still offers its Small Apps suite, available when you hit the active tasks key at the right of the home button icon. By default there are five apps in the bar, including a remote control widget for the IR blaster at the top, and a browser. You can add more apps and widgets either from the tablet, or from the Play Store. They hover on top of anything else you are doing underneath, and you can fire up to five such resizable windows, which is a decent way to multitask on the tablet if needed.

Processor and memory

With a new Snapdragon 801 processor, the Z2 Tablet is up there with the processing power of the best

Sony's new catwalk model is powered by a fast 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801. It's the slower MSM8974-AB variation of the 801 family, but still a vast improvement over the measly 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro, that last year's Tablet Z shipped with. In Snapdragon 801 the Adreno 330 GPU is clocked much higher compared to Snapdragon 800 chipsets, which boosts the graphics prowess of the chipset by a third, while preserving the power draw efficiency. This processor is just a step below Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 805, so, as exemplified in the high benchmark scores, the tablet's relevancy in the silicon department is ensured.

The Xperia Z2 Tablet also comes with 3 GB of RAM, and 16 or 32 GB of internal memory, expandable via a microSD slot.

Internet and connectivity

Needless to say, the improved processing power results in a fluid browser performance – there are no hiccups while panning around, scrolling, or zooming in and out. Sony uses the stock Chrome browser
that comes with Android now, so if you want Adobe Flash support, you'd have to look for 3rd party solutions.

There are two versions of the tablet, based on the connectivity options - one offers an LTE/3G modem, while the other is Wi-Fi-only. Both of them share the same radios – Wi-Fi/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, and DLNA. The tablet sports an infrared sensor at the top, managed by a dedicated app, so that you can use it as a remote control for your TV or home stereo, but not your AC unit, like with Samsung or LG devices.

Camera

It might not matter that much on a tablet, but Sony's slate delivers very good pictures and video

The 8 MP Exmor R sensor on the back of the tablet is managed by all the bells and whistles you'd expect from Sony's camera app, like automatic Scene Recognition mode, Augmented Reality overlays, or an HDR photo regime. By default the tablet shoots in a wide 16:9 aspect ratio, which is about 5 MP, so if you want to use the full resolution of the camera, you have to change it to 4:3 manually from the app settings. The Superior Auto mode has received quite a boost from the 45% increase in image processing power that comes with Snapdragon 801, compared to 800. It focuses and snaps very quickly, and gets the correct scene settings most of the time, including a fast reversal to macro mode, resulting in nice “bokeh” background blur effect when shooting close objects.

The pictures come out with a vivid color representation that is a tad oversaturated compared to reality, yet still pleasant to look at. The camera captures plenty of detail, in line with what one expects from an 8 MP shooter. Snapping against the sky as a background results in underexposed frames, but that's largely expected with such a camera. Indoors the tablet also performed well, keeping noise in check, and shooting clean and well-exposed photos. An LED flash would be of help in low-light scenarios, though such scenes are usable even without it.



We get smooth 30fps 1080p video recording from the Z2 Tablet's camera. The device is quick to adjust the exposure when you are panning around with it, and doesn't skip frames or insert artifacts. The sound recorded with the video is strong and clean.

Multimedia

We get excellent S-Force surround sound speakers and quite the versatile video player

Sony uses its Album app in place of a stock gallery, and offers plenty of picture editing modes that can be used from within the app's interface. Your video collection goes in the Movies app, which also boasts a pretty interface with footage previews. There is an interesting Track ID TV mode, which serves as Shazam for video, pulling out information about the movie currently on TV based on the sound recorded from it.

The Xperia interface has one of the nicest music players from all manufacturer overlays out there. It is Walkman-branded, and offers a very appealing and easy to use interface, with plenty of categorization options and sound modes to choose from.

The Z2 Tablet comes with a “surround” sound setup called S-Force, which uses not two, but four side speakers in total. The placement of the speakers is such that you won't block them with your hands while holding the tablet. We can attest that the slim device has one of the best speakers we've heard on a tablet, emitting very strong and clean sound. Waterproof speakers usually sound muffled, but here the tunes come out loud and clear so watching HD music clips or video is a pleasure.

The Xperia Z2 Tablet also offers new Digital Noise Canceling technology, that is said to weed out up to 98% of the ambient noises when listening to music. The technology is known as Active Noise Control, and weeds out the ambient fluff like car or train noises, and busy streets. That only happens when the tablet is paired with Sony's MDR-NC31EM Noise Canceling headset, however, and the pair is not included in with the tablet in every region.

The default video player runs every popular format you throw at it, including DivX/Xvid/MKV files, up to 1080p in resolution. It also sports plenty of settings, like a loop mode, or subtitles support. The footage looks pretty on the vibrant display, and, as we mentioned, you can soak in the bathtub with the waterproof tablet, while streaming you favorite TV series.

Battery

A 6000 mAh battery is nothing to write home about on a 10-incher, but we guess that's what managed to fit in the extremely thin chassis of the Z2 Tablet. Still, Sony claims the typical for an Android tablet up to 10 hours of video playback on a charge, and 100 hours of listening to music. We will update this section after we run our battery routine on the slate, and test if Sony's claims hold water. The Xperia Z2 Tablet also takes advantage of the Quick Charge 2.0 technology, that comes with Qualcomm's chipset, offering up to 75% percent faster charging.

Conclusion

Sony's Xperia Z2 Tablet is a great improvement over its record-setting predecessor. It is even thinner, with a much faster chipset, a better display, and excellent sound output. The slimmest, lightest 10-inch tablet on the planet makes a striking first impression to anyone who grabs it, and can even be held with one hand without wrecking your wrist. The lack of premium materials for the chassis is more than offset, too, by the tablet's waterproof certification, which makes it stand out in the Android crowd.

There are only a few issues with the Z2 Tablet, chief among which is the high screen reflectivity, which makes it a nuisance to use outdoors. The pixel density also leaves something to be desired, compared to other high-end devices in its category.

Sony priced the tablet at about 500 USD or EUR for the basic 16 GB Wi-Fi model. That's the same pricing scheme as its main Android and iOS competitors – Samsung's Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 and the iPad Air. The Tab PRO has a higher-resolution 1600p display, and a new Magazine UX tablet interface with an excellent split-screen multitasking mode. It is less compact than the Z2 Tablet, however, and isn't waterproof. Apple's iPad Air is also very thin and light, with a high-res display and a premium aluminum design, plus half a million tablet-tailored apps to choose from. It's not waterproof, too, and doesn't have an IR blaster or memory card slot.

In the end, unless you are aiming for a tad higher pixel density, the Z2 Tablet comes out as the best 10” Android slate you can buy at the moment. Even if you are firmly invested in the iOS tablet vortex, Sony's slate might wow you with the extra features it offers before the iPad Air, too.

Software version: 17.1.A.2.36