Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet Review: A Great Upgrade to The Z2

There is no doubt at all that Sony's tablets have grown better over the years. They have always prioritized refinement over new features, and that's exactly the story of their two bestsellers – the Xperia Z2 and Z3 compact Tablet.

The Xperia Z4 Tablet is said to be a direct replacement to their Z2 and Sony has seems to have done everything in just the right manner when it comes to upgrade an already popular device. With a slim and sleek design, super high-resolution display and market's latest chip inside, the new Sony Z4 Tablet looks like a great piece of hardware on paper.

Does it actually live up to that hype? Let's check out.

Hardware

In terms of design, the new Z4 tablet doesn't deviate heavily from that of its predecessors. Sony has always done only a few nitty-gritty changes in terms of their design methodology, however, there is nothing to complain about as the designs prepared by Sony are nothing less than stunning.

However, that doesn't mean that there is no improvement in the new Z4 at all. In fact, the Z4 is a distinctly smaller tablet; it has slimmer bezels and it now measures 6.57 inches in length against the Z2's 6.8. This has made the tablet much more ergonomic in design and easier to hold as compared to its elder brother Z2.

Apart from the dimensions, the weight of this latest tablet has also been trimmed down which is said to be the real 'wow' factor in terms of hardware. The Z4 weighs just 393g (0.87 pound) against Z2's 439g (0.97 pound) and iPad Air 2's 444g (0.98 pound).

Internally, one can expect everything that he/she should do from a 2015 tablet. A Snapdragon 810 chip, 3GB RAM; a 10.1-inch 2K panel; 32GB of expandable storage, 6,000mAh battery and the usual connectivity options like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and NFC.

Display and Sound

The Sony Xperia Z2 came with a 1,920 x 1,200 display that is still considered extremely pretty. This time, Sony gave their new tablet an all new 2,560 x 1,600 panel which is utterly gorgeous as well. The display uses the same Triluminos technology as the Z2 but both – the PPI and the max brightness are up. Blacks are as deep as they should be and viewing angles are just perfect.

However, take this display out in the Sun and you'll be left startled. The display, though is bright enough inside, however, thanks to its hyper-reflective glass, tends to give unexpectedly poor display quality on the outside. One might have to shift the tablet around just to get a view that's unhampered by reflections. The same problem was there in the Z2 as well and sadly it seems like Sony hasn't done a thing to cure it.

Talking about the stereo speakers that are mounted on display's either side, the audio they tend to pump out is distorted and noisy especially if you raise the volume. However, for those who tend to use a tablet with their headphones on, this shouldn't be a deal breaker.

Software

The new Z4 comes with a modified Android version 5.0.2. Sony's custom Xperia interface hasn't changed a lot from the past one year, while Android has come across some pretty significant changes. All kinds of Sony's additions are present in this new tablet like the 'small apps' feature and others. However, virtually none of the actual material design tweaks which arrived with Android Lollipop seem to be integrated in Z4.

There is one unique addition though in Z4's software and that is the Remote Play feature. It easily lets you stream your PlayStation 4 from anywhere simply with the help of an internet connection. The gaming experience on the Z4 tablet is exceptionally great, thanks to the good Wi-Fi chip inside it along with the support for real controllers.

Keyboard Dock and Camera

Sony has made it pretty clear that the Z4 won't be sold in the UK without the accompanying keyboard dock, however, it's still unclear if the same applies in the US too. The keyboard dock that comes with Z4 connects wirelessly and it keeps the tablet held in one place with the help of rubber inserts in a slot that's situated above the keys.

The keys of the keyboard are well-spaced and also tend to offer a pretty decent amount of travel but feel quite squidgy which makes typing thoroughly unsatisfying.

The Z4's rear is mounted with an 8.1-megapixel shooter that's exactly the same as the one found on previous model. Photos taken by it are often disappointing and it will tend to give rare moments of happiness to those who are very much into photography.

All the photos tend to have a general softness which is especially common when you are trying to get a good close-up shot.

Performance and Battery Life

Today, one can easily find a couple of Snapdragon 810-powered devices, but, this is the first one that has Qualcomm's best chip paired-up with a super high-res display, the result – an average performance in terms of devices powered by Snapdragon 810.

Although the tablet shines everywhere one would expect a flagship to. Games that are graphically intensive also tend to run pretty smooth. However, some individual apps can occasionally throw issues which tend to be a little frustrating.

In real world use, the Z4 can offer a pretty sturdy battery life. Sony, in fact, claims that one can easily squeeze out 17 hours of video playback time from the Z4. The battery life can take a blow while gaming using the Remote Play but the Z4 can definitely be regarded as a tough competitor to other products when it's about endurance.

Wrap-up

The new Sony Z4 tablet surely has its own share of shortcomings like; the woeful speakers, a 'not-to-be-taken-outside' display and a meaningless keyboard dock, however, that's not the end of the story.

In fact there's a lot to love here and everything inside the hood is exactly what one would expect from an Android tablet. It's light and thin, powerful, is waterproof and can offer a great gaming experience to those who own a PS4. However, at its current exorbitant price along with its keyboard dock, it's a bit tough to recommend it someone

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