Sony confirms Android 11 road map for Xperia series

Damien Wilde | Dec 1 2020 - 5:14 am PT

Despite not really making a dent in the wider smartphone space, Sony still maintains a large, loyal fanbase. With a small flagship lineup, it’s arguably far easier to for Sony to update their Xperia lines to Android 11.

The Japanese firm has now confirmed its Android 11 road map for selected Xperia devices including the Xperia 1 II, Xperia 5 II, Xperia 10 II, Xperia 1, and Xperia 5. That more or less covers their entire product lineup at this stage, showcasing just how streamlined Sony’s Android efforts have become in recent years.

With Android 11, the latest version of the Google operating system is in the starting blocks. Owners of a current Sony Xperia smartphone have a reason to be happy: From December onwards, Sony will gradually supply them with Android 11 — starting with the current premium devices Xperia 1 II and Xperia 5 II.

So the current flagship Xperia flagship — the Xperia 1 II — will be first to the Android 11 update from this month (December 2020). Next up is the Xperia 5 II and Xperia 10 II, which will receive the latest OS update from the end of January 2021. The former flagship duo of the Xperia 1 and 5 will get their OS upgrade from January 2021.

Unfortunately, Sony didn’t give any information on the original Xperia 10 and 10 Plus — maybe support has ended for those devices. However, the Android 11 upgrade should be a pretty light one based upon Sony’s Android Pie and Android 10 builds. Sony did share the following new additions though:

Chat management in one place. Important conversations with friends and family in different apps can be shown on the lock screen.

Conversation bubbles. Conversations from any messenger app (provided the function is supported by the app) can now be pinned to the screen so that they can always be seen over all screen contents and can be used even better when multitasking.

Screen recording. The recording of the screen in the form of a video is now supported directly in Android 11 and no longer has to be activated via a separate app.

One app for all smart devices. Smart devices in the household such as heating, light or security systems can be controlled via an integrated app that opens automatically with a long press on the power button.

Audio selection. Quick setup to control media playback. Simply switch from headphones to speakers with the push of a button so that no sound is missed.

Voice control. Faster and easier access to apps thanks to intuitive voice commands – even without an internet connection.

More security . Additional security and privacy updates are sent automatically and directly from Google Play to the Xperia smartphone, so that the latest protection measures are always installed.

Easier access authorization for apps. Which applications are allowed to access confidential data and which are not can now be conveniently regulated using a one-time authorization. For applications that have not been used for a long time, all authorizations are automatically reset.