Samsung Galaxy Tab S vs Apple iPad Air vs Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet: Specifications Comparison

Top tier MNC brands Samsung and Sony launched their high-end slates Galaxy Tab S and Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet in India earlier this week.

The new ultra-premium Galaxy Tab S is touted as the best slate series to roll out of Samsung yet, which so far been selling mid-range devices. It has heaped a lot of praises from tech pundits for its super slim body and high-resolution display.

On the other hand, Sony's second generation Xperia Z Tablet also boasts high durability, having a very thin body and IP 55/58 water-and-dust resistant certifications like its predecessor.

Both devices will be competing with top-end tablet segment leader Apple, which currently sells the metal-clad iPad Air (fifth generation).

Consumers contemplating buying a premium big-screen (9.7-inch and plus size) tablet can take a look at the comparison between Samsung Tab S (10.5), Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet and Apple iPad Air here.

Here is a brief description of the standout features of Samsung Galaxy Tab S, Apple iPad Air and Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet:

Design and Display:

Sony's new slate Xperia Z2 Tablet keeps the same design (rectangular) language seen in its predecessor, but the company as amazingly reduced the thickness of the device to a paper-thin, 6.4 mm, making it the slimmest tablet among the rivals. It also boasts of IP 55/58 water-and- dust resistant certifications as well. It flaunts 10.1-inch WUXGA (1920x1200p) TRILUMINOS screen with pixel density of 224 ppi (pixels per inch) and has proprietary X-Reality for mobile picture engine technology

[Note: Sony tablet can be operated close to five feet under water for up to 30 minutes, provided the  ports are closed by the flaps given in the package]

On the other hand, new Galaxy Tab S slate is inspired by the company's flagship smartphone Galaxy S5. They flaunt the same perforated back-cover shell and the ominous home button with finger-print sensor, but it lacks water-and-dust resistant certifications. This feature can be ignored, unlike smartphones; people tend to use tablets more in confined (safer) spaces, far away from water sources.

In terms of display specifications, Samsung slate sports super AMOLED WQXGA (2560x1600p) screen with pixel density of 288 ppi (highest among the two rivals).

Apple's fifth-generation iPad flaunts a 9.7-inch Retina (2048x1536p) display boasting IGZO (Indium gallium zinc oxide) screen technology and despite boasting metal based back-cover, it weighs just a little over one pound (469 g: Wi-Fi  model) and is 20-percent slimmer than the previous versions, hence the name - iPad Air.

Processor, RAM & Storage:

Samsung Galaxy Tab S comes in two variants – one having 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series quad-core CP U and another model comes with Exynos 5 Octa (1.9 GHz Quad-core ＋ 1.3 GHz Quad-core). They backed by sumptuous 3GB RAM and 16GB/32GB with options of expansion up to 128GB.

[Note: In India, Samsung sells Galaxy Tab S with Exynos variant with ]

Though Apple's iPad Air is oldest among the two rivals, it is still the most advanced tablet in the industry. It boasts company's in-house designed Apple A7, a 64-bit architecture based efficient dual-core processor. To lessen the work load on the main CPU, Apple has planted another co-processor M7 to independently handle the motion related tasks of the phone's gyroscope and accelerometers. It is backed by 1GB RAM and PowerVR G6430 graphics engine. Only disadvantage of Apple devices is that it comes with limited storage capacity, higher the storage space customers want more they have to shell out.

Sony's new Xperia Z2 Tablet houses the Snapdragon 800 series quad-core processor with Adreno 330 graphics engine and it is backed by 3GB RAM and expandable 16GB memory (up to 64GB).

Mobile Operating System Software:

Samsung and Sony devices run on the Android's latest v4.4.2 KitKat OS complimented by their respective custom interfaces- TouchWiz and Xperia Themes.

Apple iPad Air ships with the proprietary iOS which houses more than 1 million apps games and it is also more secured compared to Android ecosystem, which is littered with malwares and spywares. Android users have to be very careful while installing apps developed by un-known developers.

Camera:

Samsung Galaxy Tab S houses an 8.0-megapixel with LED flash and a 2.1-megapixel (full HD video recording ability) for video chatting.

Apple iPad Air packs a 5.0-meagpixel iSight camera with 5-element lens and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera with HD (720p) video recording and face-detection abilities.

On the other hand, Sony's tablet ships with an 8.1 –megapixel boasting company's proprietary Exmor RS sensor technology, HDR, 8 X zoom and a 2.2-megapixel camera (with full HD video recording ability) on the front side.

Price:

We already know that these devices are premium, so they are very expensive. Apple iPad prices range between ₹35,900 to a staggering ₹65,900, while Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet and Samsung Galaxy Tab S (10.5) are currently retailing for ₹49,990 and ₹44,800 respectively in India.

Key specifications of Samsung Galaxy Tab S, Apple iPad Air and Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet: