Sony Launches Xperia Z3 Compact, The Most Powerful Mini Flagship Yet

Sony’s Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is now official. Sony announced the mini tablet today at its IFA press conference and it is everything we expected it to be and more. The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is Sony’s first mini tablet offering. The company had so far only launched tablets with 9+ inch screen sizes.

It comes with an 8.0 inch 1920 x 1200 WUXGA IPS display with Sony’s Triluminos and Live colour LED technology that brings expanded color gamut range. There is also X-Reality for Mobile image processing software engine on board, just like on the Xperia Z2 Tablet. The screen reportedly packs in super high brightness and great sunlight legibility. There is also an additional anti-fingerprint coating on the chemical tempered glass.

The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact packs most of the same hardware specifications as its other two siblings announced today. There is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chip under the hood, clocked at 2.5GHz. There is 3GB RAM on board for smooth performance and the internal storage options are 16/32GB. This can be further expanded with the microSD card slot. The rear camera is an 8MP Exmor RS unit with Full HD Video Recording. Front-facing camera is 2.2MP unit, also capable of Full HD video. The included battery has a capacity of 4500mAh with a claimed web browsing time of up to 12 hours and video playback time of up to 15 hours. It runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

The design is something Sony is really proud of on the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact. It is claimed to be the lightest and thinnest waterproof 8 inch tablet in the market. The tablet has an ultra-slim frame and stainless steel corners. The 6.4mm thin body is quite an amazing feat honestly and the ultra-slim bezels also add to the compactness of the tablet. Especially when you consider the fact that it comes with the highest level of water resistance in a mobile device. The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact is IP65/68 certified and can be immersed in fresh water to depths of up to 1.5 meters.

It also comes with PlayStation 4 remote play feature that lets you stream the game you are playing to its display and connect it to the PS4 controller and continue playing your game when you move around your home. There is no need to be stuck to your sofa anymore. It also offers Hi-Resolution Audio support and comes with DSEE HX (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) from Sony Walkman audio players for the highest quality audio experience in a tablet.

There is also NFC on board that lets you share content with various devices in your home that support NFC. The tablet will come in two variants – Wi-Fi only and LTE equipped models. The LTE equipped models support LTE Cat.4 download speeds of up to 150 Mbps. The Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact will go on sale from this autumn in select markets. It will be offered in two colors only – Black and White. No word on prices yet.