Samsung Galaxy S2, Sony XperiaZ4 tablets deliver the goods

Samsung and Sony are busy inventing new reasons for us to buy tablets.

New tablets from Samsung and Sony.

I’ve been on a tablet binge, first with Apple’s iPad Pro in San Francisco, then last week with two great new Android tablets: the 9.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 and Sony’s versatile Xperia Z4.

Both Samsung and Sony are busy inventing new reasons for us to buy tablets, and they need to because we are holding on to our ­tablets like old family photos with little desire to upgrade to newer models.

Samsung Galaxy S2 9.7-inch tablet

This just may be the “back to the future” tablet, with Samsung downgrading features on last year’s Tab S and producing a ­tablet that’s eerily similar to the iPad Air 2.

The screen has shrunk from 10.5 inches to 9.7 inches. The screen resolution on the Tab S was 288 pixels per inch but this year it’s 264ppi, again the same as Air 2.

Battery capacity is also reduced: 5870 milliampere hours as against 7900mAh last year.

However, that didn’t stop the S2 from performing well during testing. It lasted eight hours when playing video at 75 per cent brightness.

The most notable change is the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio instead of 16:10 in the Tab S. Yes, again that’s the same as the iPad, but I’m more comfortable with the wider portrait mode with a 16:10 Android display.

The S2 trumps Air 2 and the Tab S in weight and thinness. It’s amazingly light to pick up yet strong. I felt I was picking up a thick piece of cardboard — albeit this is plastic on the outside with a strong interior metal frame.

Then there’s the powerful 8-core processor, which scored 54714 on AnTuTu’s benchmark (version 5.7.1) and blows most of the competition out of the water.

There’s 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage of which 25.2GB is user accessible, and you can add a further 128GB with a microSD card. The new fingerprint reader seems as good as the one on the Galaxy S6. My review unit ran Android Lollipop 5.0.2, and I get notifications on the lock screen.

The S2 delivers a reasonably vanilla Android experience but there are important embellishments.

You can display two apps at once by splitting the screen. You select the apps to split by pressing the menu button and choosing from there. I was able to copy from one split to the other; from S Memo to messages, so it is useful. But only certain apps work in split mode.

Alternatively, you can float apps as pop-ups by dragging down from the top left or right corners.

You also can change between the standard onscreen keyboard to floating and split mode. I found the floating keyboard useful as it takes up less screen real estate, especially in split-screen mode.

The S2 comes with Microsoft Office and you get 100GB of Microsoft OneDrive for two years as well.

With its bright clear screen, lightweight form factor, powerful processor and good battery life, the S2 is a great Android tablet. As well as 9.7-inches, there’s an 8-inch version with Wi-Fi only and 4G variants of both.

Price: $599 (Wi-Fi only), $749 (Wi-Fi and 4G)
Rating: 8/10

Samsung Galaxy S2 9.7-inch tablet

Sony XperiaZ4 10.1-inch tablet

The Z4 tablet is made for media consumption with its QuadHD screen and high 299 ppi pixel density. I loaded some 4K clips and enjoyed not only high resolution vision but good sound quality. With headphones sound was superb.

The strong branding of Sony’s Xperia range of waterproof and dustproof smartphones and tablets has brought it market success. This year it overtook HTC to become the third largest smartphone vendor in Australia, behind Apple and Samsung, according to research firm Telsyte.

Xperia tablets carry much of this branding with the Z4 rated as IP68 — dust tight and waterproof beyond 1 metre in fresh water. This is a tablet for reading on the beach or even in the pool, but you’ll need to wash off the chlorine and sand pronto.

The Z4 has a common Android 16:10 aspect ratio. It’s a similar width but 16mm longer than the S2. It’s virtually the same thickness and weight, which means it too is extremely light to hold. Its polycarbonate back offers a textured grip.

Xperia devices include flaps to seal the ports. You must close them before immersing the device in water. There’s a flap on the S4 to protect the microSD card and Nano SIM ports but Sony has waterproofed the micro USB 3.0 port without a flap. But you are warned that it needs to be completely dry before charging.

Like the S2, the Z4 is a snappy performer with an 8-core Snapdragon processor. It too swept aside the field in AnTuTu’s benchmark for CPU performance, scoring 57490, a tad ahead of the S2. You get 3GB of RAM, up to 32 GB of storage and it takes a microSD card.

The Z4 has a juicy 6000mAh battery. Sony says you get up to 17 hours of video playback. Using 75 per cent brightness I achieved much less: 10 hours, 15 minutes. While it’s well short of Sony’s benchmark, it’s still very good.

The Z4 has other strings. You can use it as a second screen with PlayStation 4. You can use it for remote play, and use its keyboard to send messages to friends while gaming.

And it’s a productivity tool, again with Microsoft Office apps, OneDrive and Skype preinstalled.

Sony provides a keyboard for the Z4 but it’s not seamlessly connected. You have to pair it with Bluetooth and charge it separately. The keys are smallish so it is not my favourite keyboard for productive typing. But it has a trackpad so you get cursor control in programs such as Word.

The keyboard will cost $299 extra but initially it is included free while stocks last. Personally, I’d look at third party keyboards.

Apart from that, the Z4 is one of the best Android tablets out there and my favourite for watching movies.

Price: $799 (Wi-Fi), $888 (Wi-Fi and 4G)
Rating: 8/10

Sony Xperia Z4 tablet and keyboard