Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet Pro Reviews

There are many things that Sony has done right with the Xperia Z2 Tablet. For one, the design is absolutely incredible: a slim and light body is complemented by great materials, IP58 water resistance, and a solid construction, making the tablet look and feel futuristic. The bezels are a little too large, but after a week of using the device it’s easy to look past this flaw.

With an excellent display and superb battery life, this is the best of the Android bunch

Sony has kept up the high standards it set with last year's Sony Xperia Tablet Z with a number of fairly minor improvements.The Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet is even slimmer and lighter, while it retains the original's distinctive looks and adds an eye-scorching Live Color display. Meanwhile an improved processor and more RAM ensure that the tablet is right near the top of the performance tree. However, with the iPad Air and a whole range of improved Samsung tablets arriving in the interim, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet simply doesn't impress as much as its predecessor did - but that's not to say it isn't one of, if not the, best Android tablet on the market right now if you're a fan of specs and design married together in an interesting and unique way.

The Xperia Z2 is a great looking and well built Android tablet. It is staggeringly thin and light for a 10in device, has a great screen, expandable storage and good performance. We like the OS and the camera. Indeed, our only issues with the Xperia Z2 Tablet is occasionally laggy web browsing, and the fact that the screen is poor under natural light. But priced in line with the iPad Air this is right at the top of the shop.

If you don't mind installing a third-party launcher (many of which are excellent, free in the Google Play app store, and take seconds to install, even for non-techies) and you want a full-sized Android tablet, then YES, absolutely. If you're willing to go further and root it, then double-yes. At $500 for the 16GB version and $600 for the 32GB it's the same price as the iPad Air, and frankly, the hardware is just much, much more impressive. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that if you're willing to fix the software problems the Xperia Z2 Tablet is the best full-sized tablet available today. Get the 16GB version and toss a cheap micro SD card in there if you need more storage. You can pre-order it starting today, and it will be in stores May 4th.

Speed, power and a beautiful screen; Sony's new tablet has it all, and is the best 10.1in Android tablet available

With the 12” NotePRO, Samsung created a niche productivity-oriented pad, while Sony's slate is exactly what a media and web consumption device should be – an extremely thin and light tablet, with the waterproof certification added for extra measure. Both tablets feature high resolution displays and fast processors, but after you've lugged around the NotePRO, you'd think twice whether to pay its significant price premium - $700 vs $500 – over the Z2 Tablet. It offers more productivity options than the Sony tablet, thanks to features like the Multi Window mode, and the S Pen stylus, plus a much longer battery life. The minute you grab the thinnest, lightest 10” tablet out there, however, most other slates in the Android world starts to pale, including a certain huge and expensive 12-incher.

It goes without saying that a buyer spending $500 or more on a tablet would expect getting something worthy in return. And that is indeed what you'll get should you choose to own Sony's new tablet. It wows you with its lightweight, ultra-thin construction the very instant you pick it up, the stereo speakers it is outfitted with make your movies much more enjoyable to watch, and the microSD card slot ensures that adding extra gigs of storage is easy as pie. Yet ultimately, is the Z2 Tablet better than the iPad Air? Well, we wouldn't say so, although we wouldn't call it inferior either. It is just that Apple's tablet is still the better-looking slate thanks to its premium metallic construction. Plus, with an iPad Air you'll be enjoying superior battery life and your eyes will be treated to a display with higher color fidelity. On a hardware level, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet may seem like the more powerful device among the two as it is powered by one of Qualcomm's fastest SoCs, namely the Snapdragon 801. Clock rate figures and number of cores, however, suddenly lose much of their significance once you take the iPad Air for a spin and experience its almost unbeatable responsiveness. To sum it all up, both tablets are on the same level when it comes to performance, and the future-proof hardware they pack ensures that they'll serve you well for years to come. At the end of the day, both the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet and the iPad Air are well worthy of your attention should you be on the looks for a high-end tablet. Whichever you invest your money in, it will be money well spent.

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.