Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact Review

The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is mainly available in black, only the cheapest version (16 GB, Wi-Fi only) is also available in white in the Sony store. However, retailers should also offer all the other versions in white. Just like the larger Xperia Z2 Tablet, the review device is extremely slim with just 6.4 millimeters (~0.25 inches). It also weighs just 270 grams (~9.5 ounce). The Tab S 8.4 (301g; ~11 ounce) is slightly heavier, the Nexus 9 (422g; ~15 ounce) on the other hand weighs much more. The iPad Mini 3 (331g; ~12 ounce) is also noticeably heavier and is the only device within the comparison that has a smaller display as well as a heavier weight. The significantly smaller MediaPad X1 only weighs 239 grams (~8.4 ounce).

The manufacturer primarily uses plastic for the tablet, but the frame is partly made of aluminum and the display is protected by mineral glass, which is supposed to be more scratch resistant. The back is slightly roughened so you have a good grip. Because of the slim construction, it is relatively easy to twist the tablet and it also creates creaking sounds. However, it does return to its original shape. The pressure resistance is decent, but heavy force on the back quickly results in picture distortions on the panel. You do not need a lot of force for the slim frame, but this usually would not be a problem when you use the tablet.

The gaps of the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact are quite small and very even. The battery is fixed inside the case and cannot be replaced. The stereo jack is slightly protruding from the case, but it is not a problem. The IP certification includes the protection against damaging amounts of dust as well as hose water or the continuous submerging in fresh water. The latter is limited to a depth of 1.5 meters (~5 ft) and a duration of 30 minutes. Our tablet did not have any issues with a test bath. It is good that the responsiveness of the touchscreen is limited under water, so you can use it for underwater pictures. All the ports except for the stereo jack have covers to protect them against the water. If you do not want to open the cover every time you charge the tablet, you should use the optional charging station that uses the two contacts of the docking port.

There are no unsightly article information on the tablet. Sony has put them all on a small film, that can be pulled out from underneath the Nano SIM slot.

NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 are also integrated. The latter works very reliably, the sound was lip-sync and without distortions even when we streamed an HD video from the Internet.

Mobile Internet connections with the Z3 Tablet Compact can be established via HSPA+ (up to 42 Mbps) or LTE Cat. 4 (up to 150 Mbps). The coverage of frequencies is very wide and should also ensure a good signal quality on vacation or business trips.

If you want to use the Z3 Tablet Compact for VoIP chats, you will hear your dialogue partner quite well, but unfortunately this cannot always be said for your own voice. Because of the location of the microphone at the side it can easily be covered. You should not get too far away from the device either, since it will quickly affect the voice quality. Even in the perfect scenario we would just call the voice quality average.

The tablet can use GPS, GLONASS and BEIDOU satellites to locate its position. The satellite fix is quite quick and reliable, even indoors. The location is almost immediate and also very reliable outdoors.

There are, however, some smaller issues with the accuracy. The deviations are pretty big compared to the bicycle computer Garmin Edge 500, especially on narrower roads or in difficult situations like in the forest. However, the overall difference was just 2.4%, which is still good.

The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact has an 8-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. This means it has a screen ratio of 16:10 and a pixel density of 283 ppi. In theory, you can still see individual pixels, but we thought the review device was extremely sharp and produced rich colors.

The display can be very bright and reached up to 540 cd/m², but the brightness distribution is still very even at the same time with 91%. The other rivals also manage good results, only the iPad Mini 3 (up to 370 cd/m², 86%) falls slightly behind. We could not determine any screen bleeding in the review unit.

The black value of 0.66 cd/m² is surprisingly low when you consider the high luminance. The result of the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is much better than the Nexus 9 (0.77 cd/m², 558:1), for example, which can be very bright as well, but also has a higher black value. The black value of the review unit, which is still decent, results in a contrast of 805:1 that is only exceeded by the MediaPad X1 (0.57 cd/m², 900:1) among the rivals with LCD panels.

The Z3 Tablet Compact reveals some weaknesses in terms of color accuracy. The deviations in factory settings are so high that you can see them with the human eye. Pure white in particular shows a strong blue cast and the gamma value is slightly raised, which does improve the black value, but reduces the visible shades. Both the grayscale as well as the ColorChecker show a DeltaE value of 10 or more. Every other rival is better. 

If you prefer a more natural result, you can use the manual white balance of the tablet and adjust the settings based on your personal preferences. We recommend the settings on the screenshot for the most natural picture, so the deviations rarely exceed a DeltaE value of 5 and the review unit is on par with the rivals. The color space coverage of the Z3 Tablet Compact on the other hand is very good and reaches around 91% of the sRGB color space. Only Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 has an even wider gamut among the rivals.

Temperature

While idling, the Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact warms up to 32.6 °C (~91 °F) at the front. We simulated maximum load with the app Stability Test and were able to measure surface temperatures of up to 41.3 °C (~106.3 °F) , which means the review unit is the warmest tablet within the comparison. Only the MediaPad X1 (up to 41.0 °C; ~105.8 °F) gets similarly warm. The other competitors stay below 40 °C (~105.8 °F). The coolest device is the iPad Mini 3 (up to 36.7 °C; ~98 °F), despite the powerful SoC. Still, none of the tablets reached critical values.

More interesting is the heat development of the Snapdragon SoC under sustained load. We tested this with the battery test of GFXBench 3.0, which is now called GFX OpenGL. The test repeats the T-Rex GPU test thirty times in a row and does not only monitor the battery capacity but also the frame rates. The latter were very stable over the course of the benchmark. This means the SoC can utilize its full performance all the time and does not have to throttle because of high temperatures.

A similar scenario is simulated by PCMark for Android. The battery test runs a loop of the Work benchmark. This test also monitors the stability of the SoC performance besides the battery capacity. Since the benchmark is much more realistic and focuses on web browsing, video playback and picture editing, it primarily uses the processor. But the results are once again stable, which means Sony has the temperature development of the SoC always under control.

The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact has two stereo speakers, which surround the display in landscape mode. The openings are pretty subtle and you can only see them at close inspection. The layout is actually quite good since the probability that you accidentally cover them with your hands is rather low.

The speakers sound comparatively good, but we miss a certain balance. The high tones are rather shrill as soon as you exceed a volume of 60% and slightly distort at the maximum volume. Medium tones are surprisingly good, the bass on the other hand is quite thin. Music enthusiasts will probably prefer headphones or an external speaker, but the sound is sufficient for games and movies, even for long periods.

Subjectively the stereo jack  leaves a good impression and there were no distortions.

Sony has created a really convincing device with the Xperia Z3 Compact. Only the case stability and the color accuracy of the panel are small issues. The latter is otherwise one of the best screens in this price range. Brightness, pixel density and contrast are on a really good level. The Japanese do not use the latest and fastest SoC, but they still equip the tablet with a really powerful SoC that can always utilize its full potential.

One thing that should be improved is the microphone. We also hope that the App2SD feature will be implemented with the update to Lollipop. However, this is complaining on a very high level, since Sony makes almost everything right and offers a great tablet, which is also waterproof and dust-resistant. There is hardly any alternative for the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact if you want to watch movies or play games in the bathtub.

Display enthusiasts on the other hand will be better off with the Galaxy Tab S 8.4. Fans of iOS do not have a choice anyway, and have to live with the products from Apple. However, the iPad Mini is the most sophisticated device within the comparison, but also has its price, especially if you want more storage or an LTE module. A less expensive and smaller alternative is the MediaPad X1. Still, our review unit is a very successful package and therefore deserves the top spot in this product category.