Sony has announced the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact during its press conference at IFA 2014 in Berlin.
The new device brings an 8-inch version of its Xperia Z2 Tablet to the tablet world but how does it compare to the existing devices out there? We put it up against the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 to see what the differences are in terms of specs.
The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is slimmer and lighter
The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact features the same omnibalance design as the other Xperia Z products but rather than a tempered glass rear, the new device has a matte-finished back.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S on the other hand, follows a similar design path to the company's Galaxy S5 smartphone with a perforated back but Samsung opts for an aluminium finish with this device.
Both look great and are easy to operate one-handed, but when it comes down to the numbers, the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is ever so slightly slimmer, narrower and lighter than the Galaxy Tab S.
The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact measures 213.4 x 123.6 x 6.4mm and weighs 270g while the Samsung Galaxy Tab S has a footprint of 212.8 x 125.6 x 6.6mm and a weight of 298g.
Sony's device is also IP65/68 rated meaning it is waterproof when all the ports are closed, whereas Samsung's Tab S doesn't offer this.
The Galaxy Tab S has a bigger, sharper display
The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact has an 8-inch display while the Samsung Galaxy Tab S offers an 8.4-inch screen so you'll get a little more with the Samsung.
You will also get a bump in resolution with the Samsung tablet as Sony opts for 1920 x 1200 pixels while the Tab S offers a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, meaning the Samsung device will offer more detail and a crisper image.
The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact's LCD display has a 275ppi compared to the 349ppi on the Super AMOLED Galaxy Tab S display.
The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact will be faster
When it comes to performance, the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact features a quad-core 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor under the hood, which is supported by 3GB of RAM.
The Galaxy Tab S has a quad-core 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 3GB of RAM so the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact should be a little faster but there shouldn't be a huge difference.
Similar cameras
The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact features an 8.1-megapixel rear snapper, along with a 2.2-megapixel front snapper and there is 8x digital zoom on board, as well as 1080p video recording.
You'll find very similar on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S too, with an 8-megaixel rear camera and 2.1-megapixel front camera but the Samsung tablet also features an LED flash.
Both companies offer their own camera features and applications including Beauty Face on Samsung's Galaxy Tab S and Face-In on the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact so there is plenty to play around with on both models.
Both Android but Samsung offers fingerprint sensor
Sony's Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact and Samsung's Galaxy Tab S both run on Android 4.4 KitKat but you will get different experiences with Samsung pushing its TouchWiz user interface and Sony pushing its own content services.
Both offer their own exciting features too as Sony wins the hearts of PlayStation 4 gamers with the ability to play PS4 console games coming to the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact in November and Samsung goes down the route of making it easier to use your smartphone and tablet together.
You'll find the usual connectivity features on board both including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC, as well as the same sensors, but Samsung offers a fingerprint reader on its Galaxy Tab S, whereas Sony has steered clear of the fingerprint sensors on its products.
Bigger battery capacity on Galaxy Tab S, but Sony claims more life
The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact has a 4500mAh battery on board, while the Samsung Galaxy Tab S features a 4800mAh battery.
In theory this should mean you get a bit more life out of the Samsung model but Sony claims the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact will give you 170 hours of music playback, while Samsung claims 80 hours for the Galaxy Tab S.
Samsung also offers the choice of a little more internal storage with a 16GB and 32GB model available, while the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact only comes in a 16GB options. Both offer microSD storage expansion up to 128GB.
Conclusion
The Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S sit quite closely together when compared spec-for-spec.
Sony's model is waterproof, lighter, slimmer and it has a faster processor and allegedly better battery life but the Samsung Galaxy Tab S has the potential for more internal storage, a bigger battery capacity, a fingerprint sensor and it will work alongside your Samsung smartphone.
The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact wins a few more points overall, especially if you are a gaming fan, but the decision will probably more likely come down to which you prefer the look of.