Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet vs Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 vs Apple iPad Air specs comparison
After releasing the world's thinnest, lightest 10" slate last year with the Tablet Z, Sony today came up with its Z2 Tablet successor, which owns those same superlatives now. Sony still kept the new slate waterproof, and with IP58 certification at that, so let's give it a quick comparison with the current best representatives of the 10" tablet universe - Apple's iPad Air, and Samsung's Tab PRO 10.1.
Clocking in at the breathtaking just 0.25" (6.4mm) girth, the Xperia Z2 Tablet 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 Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 is the thinnest and lightest Android 10-incher released this year, and it measures 7.4mm thick, weighing 16.54 oz (469 g). The venerable iPad Air is only a tad more at 7.5 mm, and with 16.86 oz (478 g) of weight, but a tad smaller display. Sony used its OmniBalance design language, with the signature circular power key, creating a well-crafted slate with soft edges and pretty looks. Galaxy Tab PRO is made of plastic, with the trademark "stitched notepad" look on the back, while the iPad Air claims its design authority with a single-piece aluminum chassis. Sony's device one-ups them both with its waterproof chassis, though, making it perfect for watching movies in the bathtub, for example.
Sony is using its new Live Colour LED display technology for the Triluminos 1920x1200 pixels screen on the Xperia Z2 Tablet. It should result in more vibrant colors on the display, yet without the accompanying oversaturation. Some may scoff at the resolution, given that we have high-end slates with 1600p screens, like the Tab PRO here, yet Samsung's slate uses an alternative "diamond" pixel matrix arrangement, while the Z2 Tablet's 1200p is still more than enough for most purposes. The iPad Air's display also comes with much higher pixel density than Sony's panel, so the Z2 Tablet gives way to the other two slate flagships in that regard.
Sony's new fashion model is powered by the fast 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801, which is a vast improvement over the measly Snapdragon S4 Pro, that last year's Tablet Z shipped with. It also comes with 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of internal memory, expandable via a microSD slot, thus mimicking the silicon and memory of the Tab PRO 10.1. The iPad Air also ships with 16 GB of storage, and uses the no-less powerful Apple A7 processor, with its raging PowerVR graphics, but doesn't offer a memory card slot.
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. Sony's 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. The iPad Air sports a much larger 8820 mAh battery, making it the king of battery endurance, while the Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 shrinks it down a notch to 8220 mAh.
the average is 0 days (0 h)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
(240 x 169.5 x 7.5 mm)
(243.1 x 171.4 x 7.3 mm)
(266 x 172 x 6.4 mm)
the average is 18.2 oz (521 g)
the average is 18.2 oz (521 g)
the average is 18.2 oz (521 g)
Design
Clocking in at the breathtaking just 0.25" (6.4mm) girth, the Xperia Z2 Tablet 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 Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 is the thinnest and lightest Android 10-incher released this year, and it measures 7.4mm thick, weighing 16.54 oz (469 g). The venerable iPad Air is only a tad more at 7.5 mm, and with 16.86 oz (478 g) of weight, but a tad smaller display. Sony used its OmniBalance design language, with the signature circular power key, creating a well-crafted slate with soft edges and pretty looks. Galaxy Tab PRO is made of plastic, with the trademark "stitched notepad" look on the back, while the iPad Air claims its design authority with a single-piece aluminum chassis. Sony's device one-ups them both with its waterproof chassis, though, making it perfect for watching movies in the bathtub, for example.
Display
Sony is using its new Live Colour LED display technology for the Triluminos 1920x1200 pixels screen on the Xperia Z2 Tablet. It should result in more vibrant colors on the display, yet without the accompanying oversaturation. Some may scoff at the resolution, given that we have high-end slates with 1600p screens, like the Tab PRO here, yet Samsung's slate uses an alternative "diamond" pixel matrix arrangement, while the Z2 Tablet's 1200p is still more than enough for most purposes. The iPad Air's display also comes with much higher pixel density than Sony's panel, so the Z2 Tablet gives way to the other two slate flagships in that regard.
Processor and memory
Sony's new fashion model is powered by the fast 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801, which is a vast improvement over the measly Snapdragon S4 Pro, that last year's Tablet Z shipped with. It also comes with 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of internal memory, expandable via a microSD slot, thus mimicking the silicon and memory of the Tab PRO 10.1. The iPad Air also ships with 16 GB of storage, and uses the no-less powerful Apple A7 processor, with its raging PowerVR graphics, but doesn't offer a memory card slot.
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. Sony's 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. The iPad Air sports a much larger 8820 mAh battery, making it the king of battery endurance, while the Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 shrinks it down a notch to 8220 mAh.
Check out the rest of the specs sheet comparison details below, and tell us which one would you pick, as they are likely to be priced in a very similar way, yet offer rather different experiences in terms of design and software.
Display
Size
Technology
IPS LCD
Super Clear LCD
IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
71.65 %
70.97 %
64.68 %
Features
Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor
Ambient light sensor
Oleophobic coating, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor
Hardware
System chip
Apple A7
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974
Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8074
Processor
GPU
PowerVR G6430
Adreno 330
Adreno 330
RAM
Internal storage
128GB
32GB
16GB
OS
iOS (12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x, 7.x)
Android (4.4)
Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4)
Battery
Capacity
8820 mAh
8220 mAh
6000 mAh
Stand-by time
the average is 0 days (0 h)
Stand-by time (3G)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
Stand-by time (4G)
the average is 0 days (0 h)
Music playback
147.00 hours
188.00 hours
Video playback
10.00 hours
13.00 hours
Camera
Rear
Single camera
Single camera
Single camera
Main camera
Specifications
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal length: 33 mm
Focal length: 33 mm
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
1920x1080 (Full HD)
1920x1080 (Full HD)
Recording format
H.264, MOV
MPEG4, H.263, H.264, 3GPP
Features
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling
Video calling
HDR
Front
1.2 MP
2 MP
2.2 MP
Video capture
1280x720 (HD) (30 fps)
1920x1080 (Full HD)
Design
Dimensions
(240 x 169.5 x 7.5 mm)
(243.1 x 171.4 x 7.3 mm)
(266 x 172 x 6.4 mm)
Weight
the average is 18.2 oz (521 g)
the average is 18.2 oz (521 g)
the average is 18.2 oz (521 g)
Materials
Back: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP58
Features
Notification light, Stylus
Buyers information
Price
$ 929
$ 500
See the full Apple iPad Air vs Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 vs Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet specs comparison or compare them to other tablets using our Tablet Comparison Tool.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: