Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact review – update to Android 5.0

Battery Life

All this power doesn’t come at the expense of battery life. In our video playback battery test, with the screen brightness set to our standard 170cd/m2, the Xperia Z3 managed an excellent 13h 8m, which is a full four hours more than we saw on the iPad Mini 3. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 just inches ahead with its 13h 54m battery life, but this is still one of the best battery scores we’ve seen for a tablet of this size. 

Android 5.0 Lollipop

The Xperia Z3 comes with Android 4.4 out of the box, but a free over-the-air update to Android 5.0.2 is now available to download. The interface itself has remained largely unchanged, which is a good thing in our books, as we were big fans of Sony’s subtle but classy customisations, including its good-looking icons and animated ribbon backgrounds that move as you swipe between app screens. There are still glimpses of stock Android, including the drop-down notifications menu, but otherwise it’s easily one of the most elegant Lollipop-based user interfaces we’ve seen.

^ At a glance, Sony’s verison of Lollipop looks very similar to KitKat (left). The new notifications and quick settings menu, however, is pure stock Lollipop

Camera

Sony has gone all out with its camera app, as there are plenty of things you can do with its 8-megapixel sensor. Background Defocus, for instance, is designed to replicate the background blur effect from certain DSLR cameras. There’s also AR Effect, which uses augmented reality to add in virtual characters such as Spiderman into your shots. They’re definitely fun additions, but probably not something you’ll likely use once the novelty wears off.

We found the Panoramic Sweep and Manual modes much more useful. Photo quality was good, as the camera was able to capture a decent amount of detail in good light, but images could still be quite grainy and lacking in sharpness in some places. Colours were a little subdued, too.

Conclusion

The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is undoubtedly a premium tablet. Its build quality is fantastic, it’s razor-thin, making it easy and convenient to carry around and the water and dust-proofing makes it more practical than its rivals. The addition of PS4 Remote Play alone will be enough to sell it to some, but Android 5.0 also means it will keep feeling like a modern tablet longer than its KitKat-only rivals.

When it first launched, the Z3 Tablet cost £329, but it has now dropped to £264 for the 16GB version and £310 for 32GB. You can also buy the 16GB version with built-in 4G for £340. The £250 Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is a fraction cheaper and has a higher-resolution screen, but in our eyes it can’t beat the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact for build quality or performance. For this reason, the Z3 Tablet Compact wins a Recommended award.