Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet first look!

Flagship season is upon us, but noticeable in its absence is the latest flagship smartphone from Sony, which has now been pushed back to accommodate Sony’s move away from their bi-annual release cycle. Nevertheless, Sony hasn’t come to MWC 2015 without its own bag of goodies, with the waterproof Xperia M4 Aqua, as well as the highly-anticipated latest addition to their high-end tablet lineup. At MWC 2015, we got to spend some time with the device, and here is our first look at the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet!

Ever since the launch of the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, we were wondering what Sony would do with regards to a tablet in the 10-inch form factor, with the answer arriving in the form of the Xperia Z4 Tablet. What Sony has done wonderfully well with both their flagship smartphones and tablets is to further refine the design language and build quality, even after it felt like things couldn’t get any better with the previous iteration. Not to mention the jump in specifications associated with the difference in generations.

This holds true for the Xperia Z4 Tablet as well, which actually shares the design language of its smaller predecessor, and somehow manages to be even thinner and lighter than what was found with previous generations, with a thickness of just 6.1 mm, and weighing 389 grams. As far as the specifications go, apart from boasting the latest and greatest in terms of processing power, the display of the Xperia Z4 Tablet has been upgraded to a Quad HD resolution.

In terms of design, the iconic large silver power button, along with the volume rocker, is found on the right side of the device, and like previous generations, comes with a soft touch plastic back that allows for some good grip. Of course, holding onto the device is quite comfortable not only because of the back cover material, but because of how thin and light this tablet is, despite its 10.1-inch display size.

As mentioned, the specifications of the tablet have been updated to suit the times, with the Xperia Z4 Tablet packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, backed by the Adreno 430 GPU and 3 GB of RAM. In terms of storage, 16 GB and 32 GB are available built in, further expandable via microSD card. Everything under the hood is also well protected from the elements, with the Xperia Z4 Tablet also coming with the marquee feature of the high-end Xperia line, an IP65/68 rating for resistance to dust and water.

While the device still packs a 8 MP camera as seen on its predecessor, the front-facing camera has been upgraded to a 5 MP unit, which is great for any video chatting you may do or to take selfies with your tablet, if that is something you do. As far as the rear camera is concerned, there is no flash available, but you should still be able to get some decent look shots in good lighting conditions with this tablet.

On the software side of things, the latest iteration of the minimalistic Xperia UI is found on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop, the influence of which is evident in the redesigned notification drop down and the new Overview screen. The Xperia UI has always been as close to stock as you can get when it comes to OEM skins, but there are some useful additions made by Sony that make their way over to the Z4 Tablet as well, such as Small Apps, to help with multi-tasking and to take advantage of the large screen real estate.

So there you have it – a quick look at the Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet! It is yet another wonderful device offering from Sony, that brings with the best of the previous generations in a more refined, thinner, and lighter body, while packing the latest and greatest when it comes to power and display prowess.

Stay tuned with Android Authority as we bring you more from Sony, as well as all our other great coverage from MWC 2015!