The Apple iPad Air and the Sony Xperia Tablet Z are two devices that are on top of the tablet market competition today. It is undeniable that both slabs sport sophisticated designs, premium build, and second-to-none features. But what if you are pitting them against each other, which device could emerge as the winner? Can the Apple iPad Air beat the Sony Xperia Tablet Z in this head-to-head match between their best specs, features and miscellaneous assets? Let's find out.

Apple iPad Air over Sony Xperia Tablet Z

The first thing that the Apple iPad Air boasts is obviously the fact that it is one of if not the lightest tablet in the market today despite its metallic build. At 16.87 oz, the iPad Air is lighter than the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, which weighs 17.86 oz. Ironically, the Android device is thinner than the iOS tablet from Apple.

Another thing that makes the Apple iPad Air the better pick between the two devices is its display resolution. The iPad Air flaunts a more vibrant and well-toned display with its 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution as opposed to Xperia Tablet Z's 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution. The display is further enhanced in the Apple device all thanks to its 264 pixel density. Meanwhile, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z has 224 ppi. What's good about the minimal difference though is you can't really tell them apart unless you put them side-by-side. Viewing angles at the iPad are better and do not appear washed off from the side. But then again, we don't use our tablets by just looking at its screen from the side.

When it comes to processor speed, the Apple iPad Air blows the Sony Xperia Tablet Z out of the water. For one thing the Sony device comes only with a Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor tweaked at 1.5 Ghz with Adreno 320 graphics processor. In contrast, the Apple iPad Air sports Apple's latest technology for its tablets: the Apple A7 with 64-bit architecture. With the said technology at hand, the iPad Air runs smoothy, opens and closes apps quickly, and even ends tasks with ease.

Finally, the best feature that gives the Apple iPad Air distinction over the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is its quite efficient and long-running battery. While the Sony Xperia Tablet is stuck with a 6,000 mAh battery, the Apple iPad Air takes pride with its 8,820 mAh battery.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z over Apple iPad Air

The first thing that one would notice right away when putting them side-by side is the fact that the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is bigger. Its 10.1-inch display is bigger than Apple's 9.7-inch display. The design of the device emphasizes the length of the display such that it makes it appear even bigger than most 10-incher tablets out there.

When it comes to Sony, we all know that the company is more than proud of its camera technology. In this case, the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, which comes with an 8.1MP shooter, is far better than the 5MP camera of the iPad Air. Furthermore, the front-facing camera of Sony is also better than that of the iPad tablet in terms of taking self-capture photos and the like.

Interestingly, multitasking is carried out better using the Sony Xperia Tablet Z, which comes with a 2048 MB RAM for its internal storage, On the contrary, Apple is not worried about this since its 64-bit architecture also makes up for its 1024 MB Ram.

Finally, if you are looking for a device that has an expansion slot option, then the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is the better pick between the two since it accommodates any microSD for additional external storage. Meanwhile, it seems that Apple is still not willing to add the memory expansion feature to any of its devices.