Sony’s Xperia Tablet Z was a beautiful Android tablet that failed to make an impact on the market, but it seems the Japanese manufacturer wasn’t disheartened and is actually working on a successor. Whether that successor will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress next week is uncertain, but thanks to evleaks, we have all the details on its hardware. Unsurprisingly, the “Xperia Z2 tablet”, as evleaks dubs it, will share most of its specifications with the Xperia Z2. In fact, most of the hardware will apparently remain unchanged from the Xperia Tablet Z, including a 10.1-inch Triluminos 1920×1200 display, 8-megapixel and 2-megapixel rear and front-facing cameras, 16GB of storage expandable via microSD cards, and a 6,000 mAh battery.
Sony XPERIA Z2 tablet: SD800 (2.3GHz x4), 10.1" 1920×1200 Triluminos, 3GB/16GB/microSD, 8MP/2MP, 6000mAh, 6.4mm, KK 4.4, waterproof.
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 17, 2014
However, there will be considerable upgrades when it comes to horsepower. A quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU paired with 3GB of RAM should offer more than adequate processing might, while Android 4.4 KitKat should provide a fast and smooth software experience, topped with Sony’s attractive custom UI. The company’s new found tradition of making all its premium devices waterproof will also continue, and Sony has apparently managed to fit everything inside a body that is only 6.4 mm thick.
On paper, that hardware is pretty impressive, but as we’ve seen in the past, great hardware doesn’t necessarily translate into success in a market dominated by Apple’s iPad and, to a lesser extent, Samsung’s Galaxy tablet lineup. An attractive price might bring in more buyers than the original Xperia Z tablet was able to, but other than that, Sony will have a tough time explaining to people why they should choose its second-generation waterproof tablet.
