One year on, Sony has announced the Xperia Z2 Tablet's successor at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, delivering what it claims to be "the world's lightest and slimmest 10-inch" tablet.
The waterproof Xperia Z4 Tablet measures 254 x 167 x 6.1mm and weighs just 393g, making it slimmer and lighter than the Xperia Z2 Tablet as you might expect, but it is also 40 grams lighter than the Apple iPad Air 2, which offers the same thickness.
The 10.1-inch LTPS display features a resolution of 2560 x 1600 with a pixel density of 299ppi, which is also an improvement on the previous model's 1920 x 1200 display that delivered a 226ppi and the company claims it is the brightest 2K display around. The new model sees a big reduction in the bezel surrounding the screen, resulting in a much sexier tablet that follows the same design ethos as the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact launched at IFA in September 2014.
Running the show is the latest 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, supported by 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal memory that is expandable via microSD, plus there will also be a 6000mAh battery on board that Sony claims will offer 17 hours playback.
READ: Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet hands-on
The Xperia Z4 Tablet comes complete with an 8-megapixel rear camera, as well as a 5-megapixel front snapper with a wide angle lens and Sony has said the suite of Xperia Z3 camera features including Superior Auto and Sound Photo will be available on the new tablet, for both the front and rear cameras. Front stereo speakers are on board too like its predecessor, along with the company's DSEE HX technology for upscaling tracks to near High-Res audio quality and the new LDAC codec for transmitting data more efficiently than Bluetooth.
In terms of other software, the Xperia Z4 Tablet will come with Android 5.0 Lollipop and you will also find a few of Sony's unique features including Remote Play, that allows users to play their PS4 on the tablet. Users will also get access to Sony's Xperia Lounge Gold service that provides exclusive competitions and offers, along with movies, TV episodes and music.
Additionally, when connected to the specifically-designed BKB50 Bluetooth Keyboard, the Xperia Z4 Tablet will feature an arrow in the bottom left-hand corner that turns into a Sony Android launcher displaying your most recent apps and there are printer and projector outputs for the "ultimate laptop-style experience".
The Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet will be available in black and white colour options, while the BKB50 keyboard will only come in black for now. There will also be black and white SCR32 cover stand cases available for the tablet and a BSP60 smart speaker that enables the user to make conference calls, receive phone notifications and get information via voice commands.
The Xperia Z4 Tablet will be available in 4G LTE and Wi-Fi only models from June 2015 but pricing has yet to be detailed.