Sony has just released a new tablet at this week's Mobile World Congress

Feb 28, 2014 12:08 GMT  ·  By

Sony introduced the Xperia Tablet Z back in May 2013, so it was high time the company pushed out a successor. This is exactly what happened at the Mobile World Congress, where we saw Sony introduce the next-gen Xperia Z2 Tablet (check out our hands-on here).

The company isn’t shying away from making big statements, so according to them the new slate is the “world’s slimmest and lightest waterproof tablet.” But let’s take a quick tour and see what has changed with the new model, compared to the previous one.

Look and Feel A tablet looks like a tablet, but Sony has preserved the OmniBalance look we got accustomed to with the Xperia Tablet Z, but the new model certainly looks more anorexic than before.

The new Xperia Z2 Tablet is just 6.4mm / 0.25 inches thick and the Wi-Fi model weighs only 426 g / 0.93 lbs, while the LTE/3G model is obviously a little chubbier, at 439 g / 0.96 lbs. Compare that to the 496 g / 1.09 lbs and the overall 172 x 266 x 6.9 mm / 6.7 x 10.4 x 0.27 inches and you’ll notice the difference

Another visible difference is that Sony has moved the audio speakers from the back of the tablet (like on the Xperia Tablet Z) to the front, so the sound actually comes towards the user.

To enhance the overall sound experience, Sony has added new digital-noise cancelling tech in the new model, which works best when paired with Sony’s MDR-NC31EM headphones.

Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet launches at MWC 2014
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet launches at MWC 2014

Display

Both tablets come with a 10.1-inch display and the same capable 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution plus 224 ppi. It’s a bit of a disappointment that Sony didn't take things up a notch in this department.

To be fair, they have added a new technology dubbed the Live Color LED which is said to be in charge of depicting brighter colors. Both models are water-proof.

Power and Performance

Sony doesn't disappoint in the hardware department. With so many new chips being unveiled at MWC 2014, it would have been strange if the company hadn't tapped into the new goodness.

The Xperia Z2 Tablet takes advantage of the new Qualcomm offering, by bundling a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor combined with 3GB of RAM.

It’s quite a noticeable difference from the previous Xperia Tablet Z which runs on a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon combined with 2GB of RAM.

However, both of them are said to be able to provide 10 hours of juice, on a single charge.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z launched in May
Sony Xperia Tablet Z launched in May

Cameras

In the photography department, Sony lets things stagnate, and both models come bundling an 8.1MP on the back and 2.2MP in front.

Storage and Accessories

Storage-wise, customers will get the same choice between 16GB of 32GB of internal memory with both tablets, on top of the microSD option (used to expand to 64GB of internal storage).

As far as connectivity is concerned, there’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC, but Xperia Z2 Tablet pushed things a little bit further with new accessories, including keyboard, speaker dock, remote control and microphone.

OS

As expected, the Xperia Z2 Tablet comes running Android 4.4. KitKat out of the box, but the Xperia Tablet Z is still waiting to get its KitKat treatment. Sony keeps true to its own, in offering the Sony skin, complete with the What’s New portal.

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Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet vs. Sony Xperia Tablet Z comparison
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet launches at MWC 2014Sony Xperia Tablet Z launched in May
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