The Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet has a 10.1" IPS LCD display of 1,920 x 1,200 pixel resolution. The pixel density works out to 224ppi, lower than the 264ppi of the iPad Air and the 299ppi of the Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1.
The Xperia Z2 Tablet screen has amazing colors
The sharpness proves sufficient for tablet use, though we would still have preferred a resolution bump from the previous generation as there is some softness in the finer detail on the screen.
Anyway, Sony has applied its TV making know-how with the unique Live Color LED tech, which uses blue LEDs and Red and Green phosphor instead of the usual white backlight. This combined with Triluminos provides even backlighting and deeper colors. Sony promises the screen is better than others at reproducing reds and aqua blues/emerald greens.
Despite the unusual display tech, the Xperia Z2 Tablet uses a standard matrix
That's not just marketing talk either, the color rendering is indeed impressive and the viewing angles are incredibly wide.
Display test
50% brightness
100% brightness
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Black, cd/m2
White, cd/m2
Contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4
0.34
281
830
0.60
498
822
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet
-
-
-
0.45
484
1076
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1
0.41
312
775
0.72
588
812
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014
0.27
221
831
0.53
440
821
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
0.33
301
901
0.54
493
911
Google Nexus 10
0.26
223
859
0.50
443
878
Sony Xperia Tablet Z
-
-
-
0.53
531
996
Sony Xperia Tablet S
0.35
334
947
0.67
526
783
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
0
149
∞
0
379
∞
Apple iPad mini
0.25
208
838
0.51
458
812
Apple iPad 3
0.21
167
809
0.6
477
779
Apple iPad 4
0.21
163
797
0.63
476
762
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
0
200
∞
0
328
∞
Asus Google Nexus 7
0.25
244
954
0.36
327
908
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
0.27
223
832
0.49
406
821
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
0.31
257
826
0.55
502
915
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus
0.17
196
1141
0.34
424
1236
The sunlight legibility suffers quite a bit from the reflectivity of the screen - the glass just reflects too much of the surroundings, which can make it difficult to see what's happening on the screen.
The hardware display features are enhanced by the X-Reality engine that analyzes photos and videos. It sharpens the outlines of objects to make them pop, enhancing color and contrast and applying noise reduction.
Sony has added a feature that lets you manually tune the white balance of the screen, but that can be difficult to get right. We would have preferred something simpler, i.e. just a selection of Cool / Neutral / Warm.
A more helpful option is called Smart backlight controls, which is a reimplementation of Samsung's Smart stay. It prevents the screen from going to sleep as long as the front-facing camera can see your face.
Screen calibration tool • Smart backlight control
Battery life
We have the Wi-Fi only version of the Xperia Z2 Tablet, but even the LTE version lacks voice call functionality so we could only do the web browsing and video playback tests.
The 6,000mAh battery doesn't sound like much, but Sony really managed to squeeze every available minute of battery life out of it.
The web browsing time topped the chart, though that's with a rather dim display. You can read our blog post on the matter for more details.
Web browsing
Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet 12:53
Sony Xperia C 12:45h
Nokia Lumia 1520 12:40h
Sony Xperia Z1 Compact 12:37h
HTC Desire 700 dual sim 12:30h
LG G2 11:22h
HTC One Max 11:20h
Sony Xperia ZR 11:20h
HTC Butterfly S 11:07h
Nokia Lumia 1320 10:58h
Apple iPad Air 10:10h
BlackBerry Q5 10:04h
HTC One 9:58h
Apple iPhone 5s 9:58h
Apple iPhone 5 9:56h
Samsung Ativ Odyssey I930 9:54h
Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini 9:47h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo 9:43h
Alcatel Hero 9:40h
Samsung Galaxy Core LTE 9:37h
LG G Pro 2 9:31h
LG G Flex 9:31h
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE 9:16h
Motorola RAZR MAXX 9:12h
HTC One (M8) 9:06h
Oppo N1 9:05h
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 9:05h
Apple iPhone 5c 9:05h
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 9:04h
Motorola Moto G 9:04h
Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom 8:51h
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100 8:48h
BlackBerry Q10 8:42h
Asus PadFone 2 8:20h
Nokia Lumia 810 8:20h
Huawei Ascend Mate 8:17h
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I9200 8:17h
HTC One mini 8:12h
Nokia Lumia 610 8:01h
HTC One X+ 7:56h
Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo 7:43h
Motorola DROID RAZR M 7:42h
Sony Xperia E dual 7:42h
Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini 7:38h
Nokia Lumia 720 7:37h
Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active 7:35h
Samsung I9505 Galaxy S4 7:24h
Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue 7:23h
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX 7:23h
HTC Radar 7:17h
Nokia Lumia 520 7:15h
LG Optimus GJ E975W 7:11h
Samsung Galaxy Grand I9082 7:09h
Sony Xperia M 7:09h
Meizu MX3 7:09h
Samsung Galaxy Express I8730 7:09h
Nokia Lumia 625 7:07h
Motorola RAZR i XT890 7:06h
Sony Xperia J 7:06h
Samsung I9500 Galaxy S4 6:58h
Apple iPhone 4s 6:56h
Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.7 6:54h
Samsung Galaxy Core I8260 6:54h
HTC One V 6:49h
LG Optimus G Pro E985 6:40h
Sony Xperia L 6:40h
Samsung Galaxy Premier I9260 6:40h
HTC DROID DNA 6:40h
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus 6:40h
Motorola ATRIX HD MB886 6:40h
BlackBerry Curve 9380 6:40h
Sony Xperia E 6:40h
HTC First 6:39h
Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 6:38h
Sony Xperia Z 6:37h
Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 2 6:35h
HTC Desire 600 dual sim 6:34h
HTC Desire 500 6:31h
Huawei Ascend P6 6:30h
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III 6:27h
BlackBerry Z10 6:27h
HTC Butterfly 6:24h
Sony Xperia SP 6:18h
Samsung Galaxy S III I747 6:16h
HTC One SV 6:15h
Samsung Focus S I937 6:15h
Nokia Lumia 510 6:13h
Sony Xperia ZL 6:04h
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500 6:03h
Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus 6:02h
Oppo R819 6:01h
HTC Windows Phone 8X 6:01h
Sony Xperia Z1 5:59h
Sony Xperia ion LTE 5:56h
Samsung Galaxy Fame S6810 5:55h
Samsung Rugby Smart I847 5:53h
Pantech Burst 5:51h
Nokia Lumia 1020 5:50h
HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE 5:48h
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T769 5:45h
Nokia Lumia 920 5:40h
Nokia Lumia 928 5:36h
Samsung S8600 Wave 3 5:34h
Pantech Discover 5:33h
Oppo Find 5 5:33h
Samsung i927 Captivate Glide 5:33h
Sony Xperia T 5:33h
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam 5:28h
Nokia Lumia 900 5:25h
Samsung Galaxy Note I717 5:24h
Sony Xperia Z Ultra 5:23h
Samsung Galaxy S Duos S7562 5:23h
HTC Sensation XL 5:20h
Meizu MX 4-core 5:19h
Nokia Lumia Icon 5:17h
HTC Desire X 5:16h
HTC Rezound 5:16h
Sony Xperia acro S 5:16h
LG Optimus G E975 5:15h
HTC Rhyme 5:08h
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R 5:07h
LG Optimus L9 P760 5:02h
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro 4:50h
LG Optimus Vu F100S 4:49h
LG Nexus 5 4:46h
HTC Vivid 4:46h
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos S6802 4:45h
Meizu MX 4:35h
LG Nexus 4 E960 4:34h
Nokia N9 4:33h
Acer CloudMobile S500 4:32h
Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II 4:24h
Nokia Lumia 820 4:24h
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V 4:20h
HTC One X 4:18h
Nokia 808 PureView 4:14h
LG Optimus 3D Max P720 4:10h
Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T 4:10h
Nokia Lumia 800 4:07h
HTC One S C2 4:03h
HTC One S 4:03h
BlackBerry Bold 9790 4:02h
LG Nitro HD 4:00h
LG Optimus 4X HD P880 3:59h
Sony Xperia P 3:59h
Nokia Lumia 710 3:51h
Nokia Lumia 620 3:50h
Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 3:47h
Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 3:35h
Huawei Ascend P1 3:23h
Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250 3:01h
The video playback time was pretty great too, but again it will drop significantly if you push the brightness near the maximum.
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