Android updates and Sony aren’t necessarily synonymous with one another, but in 2016, something seems to be changing. Not only are updates coming out of Sony Mobile more regularly, but they’ve also managed to be one of the first manufacturers to release Android 7.0 Nougat. Sure it’s not available on all of their devices yet but the rollout has been much faster than previous Android builds. Now according to Xperia Blog, Sony wants to beat all others to Android 7.1.1.
Sony’s dev team said that “this is our (the Concept teams) number 1 priority” and that “if you spot any other vendor (excluding Google) releasing this faster than us, prepare your rotten tomatoes!”
The Xperia Concept developer team currently has the source code and is waiting for the application suite (GMS apps) and the Compatibility Test Suite (CTS) from Google. There is no firm timeline on when Xperia X users running Concept firmware will see the latest Android 7.1.1 release
After years of being late to OS releases, perhaps Sony is finally getting their software house in order. Of course this also comes at a time where their smartphone sales have never been lower and one has to wonder if it’s too little too late. At the same time, perhaps this is just the visible part of Sony getting their Xperia division on track and we’ll start seeing other positive moves in 2017.
I’ve argued a few times that 2017 is going to be a make or break it year for the division. Thanks to leaks, we already have model numbers for their Spring 2017 lineup and beyond that, there will be some form of Summer/Fall release of devices but depending on if there is an uptick in sales or not, 2018 is likely up in the air. After all, if they’re only managing to sell 10-15 million units a year, is there even a point for the division to exist? Do you think this is a sign of Sony finally understanding how to better manage Xperia?
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