Review: Waterproof Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet

Specs of the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet (Price in the Philippines: P33,190):
* IP58-certified dust- and water-proof
* 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset
* Adreno 330 GPU
* 3GB RAM
* 16GB internal storage
* microSD card slot (up to 64GB)
* 10.1-inch IPS-LCD display w/scratch-resistant glass (1,200 x 1,920 resolution)
* 8-megapixel rear camera
* 2-megapixel front camera
* 6,000mAh lithium-polymer battery
* Android KitKat 4.4.2

When Sony announced the Xperia Tablet Z a year ago, the Japanese tech giant served notice that it was serious about its tablet aspirations. That it was looking to tackle the iPad with a premium slate of its own, using expertise from its most profitable businesses. The Xperia Tablet Z was a critical and sales success that rewrote the book on what a full-size tablet should be: compact, powerful, and durable enough to withstand the elements.

Its followup, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet certainly has big shoes to fill, then. The current-gen model retails for P33,190 in the Philippines. Yup, this Sony isn't for the budget-conscious, but rather for consumers who are willing to spend top money for top performance. But how does it compare to its predecessor, as well as similar offerings on the market? Read on to find out.

Hardware

Those familiar with the design philosophies that define the Xperia Tablet Z should feel right at home with the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet—and this is not simply because they look and feel identical to one another. (To be clear: That's a good thing.)

Just like its predecessor and Xperia smartphones that have come out in recent years, Sony's newest flagship bears what the Japanese call an "OmniBalance design," where minimalism meets balance and symmetry, resulting in a slab of reinforced glass and soft-touch plastic that's comfortable to use in either portrait or landscape mode.

However, the placement of the power button and volume rocker on the left-hand side while in landscape mode suggests the tablet favors the aforementioned orientation, and that suits us just fine.

Sure enough, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet is, by far, the most portable full-size slate we've tested to date, measuring 266mm long and 172mm wide and a mere 6.4mm at its thickest point and weighing in at 426 grams. It's slightly more slender and lighter than the already handy Xperia Tablet Z and Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5. Heck, it's noticeably leaner than the average smartphone. Stack three five-peso coins on top of one another—that's approximately how thick it is. Impressive, really.

We also like that the dual speakers backed by Sony's S-Force surround-sound technology are positioned on the front instead of around the back where they can easily get muffled, not to mention they're loud enough to fill a room without having to worry about distortion.

Speaking of audio quality, the Xperia Z2 Tablet is the first of its kind to produce anti-noise to shush background, um, noise, provided you pair it with a compatible set of Sony headphones. If you're a daily commuter who doesn't mind paying extra, we recommend giving active noise-cancellation a serious consideration.

The Xperia Z2 Tablet's plain, jet-black front, where the only detail clearly visible is Sony's company logo, puts the 10.1-inch LCD display at the front and center of the tablet experience. The aim is not to divert attention away from all the content, say, videos, photos, and games you'll want to play on the device. Not that you'll find it difficult to keep your eyes glued on the vivid display, which we'll discuss in length in a bit.

But to say that the Xperia Z2 Tablet takes a sensible approach to design is only half the story. As seen in its 10-inch forebear, Sony's thoughtful design work also extends to where the tablet can be used. Without the need to purchase an aftermarket case, it can be submerged up to a depth of 4.5 feet for up to 30 minutes.

Not just splash-resistant, it boasts IP58 water-proof certification, a feature that rarely exists in tablets. In order to keep water, or any other form of liquid, for that matter, from getting inside, the microSD card slot and charging port are secured tightly by separate plastic flaps.

Again, what we have here isn't a departure from the previous model, but there's no question that the newer, slimmer, and lighter Xperia Z2 Tablet ranks among the best-designed tablets we've ever used. If we have to be nitpicky, our only gripe is that its bezels are larger than they need to be.

While we understand the need to make them wide enough to prevent our palms or fingers from accidentally touching the screen, the bezels could certainly have been narrower. Perhaps Sony can draw inspiration from Samsung's Galaxy Tab S series and make its next slate more compact.

Display

Similar to the model before it, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet flaunts a 1,200 x 1,920 IPS-LCD display measuring 10.1 inches diagonally. To distinguish itself from Sony's previous tablet, as well as its top-tier rivals, the Japanese have souped up the panel with a bevy of proprietary technologies: Triluminos display, Live Colour LED tech, and X-Reality engine.

Now, we can devote an entire paragraph or two to explain each of them, but we'd rather give you the "TL;DR" (that's "too long; didn't read" for those unfamiliar with the abbreviation) version of what these technologies mean for the device: The Japanese, drawing from Sony's TV-making expertise, have fitted the tablet with an evenly backlit screen that produces colors and blacks with a great degree of fidelity and especially wide viewing angles.

The screen isn't as impressive when used outdoors, though, as direct sunlight drastically affects its visibility. We're not too thrilled about the pixel density of 224 dots per inch, either, which trails some of the competition.

Regardless of our minor grievances, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet delivers a wholly pleasant video-watching and gaming experience—and, really, that's all we could hope for in a device like this. We use it regularly, so much so that it has replaced our bulky 14-inch laptop as our gear of choice for binge-watching TV shows and streaming NBA Summer League and UAAP college basketball games.

Performance

The Xperia Z2 Tablet has one of the fastest mobile processors available under the hood in the 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, in addition to a whopping 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 GPU clocked 30 percent higher than the one found in Snapdragon 800-based releases. Storage is listed as 16GB, with the option to expand up to an additional 64GB using a microSD card.

As you'd imagine—and as we found in our testing—the device performs like a champ. Memory-intensive games like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown run flawlessly on it; split-screen multitasking is possible, and the heaping serving of RAM means multiple apps can work side by side without hiccups.

The tablet has also proven itself to be a solid performer in compound benchmark apps like AnTuTu Benchmark, 3DMark, Vellamo, and Quadrant Standard, racking up AAA scores across the board. Our review unit even broke the 34K mark on AnTuTu, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Sadly, the Xperia Z2 Tablet isn't nearly as great a shooter as it is a computing powerhouse. There are two cameras on the device: 8 megapixels on the rear and 2 megapixels on the front. Both use Sony's Exmor RS image sensor, meaning, in theory, you should be able to capture quality shots using either camera without a problem, even in dim environments sans flash.

Except most of the photo and video samples we took at night turned out to be grainy, with muted colors and, at times, an excessive amount of color banding. Results were understandably better during the day. Compared to the iPad Air, Apple's 10-inch tablet offers better picture quality in most situations, though not by a whole lot.

To its credit, Sony has thrown in an expansive selection of in-app camera shooting modes and options, including sweep panorama, timeshift burst, and, our favorite so far, background defocus, a feature for snapping macro shots with a shallow depth of field, DSLR style. And then there's AR [Augmented Reality] effect, which superimposes virtual characters and background elements on your photos and videos. Imagine: an animated Tyrannosaurus rex roaming the surface of your work desk or a band of cartoonish elves taking over your laptop keyboard and palm rest. Exciting stuff for kids and youngsters.

As for the 6,000mAh lithium-polymer battery inside the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet, those hoping for a marathon performance won't be disappointed, as the slate can easily last two full days with moderate use. Activating battery-stamina mode will give it more mileage—in our experience, a half day longer on a single charge. In our standard video-rundown test, it managed 12 hours and 22 minutes, with WiFi switched on and brightness set at 50 percent. That playback time is comparable to the iPad Air, which has become an industry benchmark.

Software and SmartBand

True to its flagship status, the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet comes with the company's latest software on top of Android KitKat 4.4.2. Compared to the clean, "vanilla" Android of the Nexus lineup, the changes here are largely aesthetic, with the aim of introducing a more playful gamut of colors to an otherwise banal interface. The UI includes Sony's usual software package plus a theme store where you can download themes to further spice up your homescreen.

New to Xperia devices is the Lifelog app, an Android-only companion software that shows you a detailed visual timeline of your day-to-day activities using data gathered from various applications and sensors in your phone or tablet, as well as data from Sony's SmartBand, a fitness tracker that sells for P4,290 in the Philippines.

Lifelog is ambitious and sweeping. Besides counting your steps, measuring how many calories you burned, and tracking your sleep patterns, it will log how much time you spend watching videos, playing mobile games, listening to music, and browsing the Web. It also keeps tabs on photos that you took. Of course, you can use it to set fitness goals and monitor your progress, too.

Admittedly, the app is still a work in progress (hence, the limited number of supported devices now), but it's useful in ways that nothing else on the market can quite replicate.

The SmartBand itself, which is made of flexible silicone rubber, houses a tiny motion sensor and is a joy to use and wear. It's so lightweight that you'd hardly notice it wrapped around your wrist as you go about your daily business. We tend to not notice it at all.

And just like the Xperia Z2 Tablet, it can be submerged in water without any bad effects, so you don't have to remove it before heading to the shower or going for a swim. The built-in battery inside the SmartBand's sensor typically lasts four days, and the average charging time is anywhere between 30 to 45 minutes.

Verdict

You probably won't be able to tell simply by looking at it, but the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet has improved in ways that make its premium price tag more palatable. You're getting a better screen, even brisker performance plus a superior software suite, all in a weather-ready package that's easier to carry around. Is it among the best options in the category? The short answer: definitely. It's an excellent upgrade to an already-worthy flagship tablet. Ultimately, if price isn't a major factor in your purchasing decision, we'd wholeheartedly recommend it. (With inputs from Ramon Lopez)

Got any questions? Tweet us at @aloraguerrero or @monchlopez.