While manufacturers like HTC, Motorola and LG were all relatively quick to jump onboard the Marshmallow bandwagon, Sony — its seems — was happy taking its own sweet time. Following its Japan-only release, it appears as though Android Marshmallow is starting to land on international variants of the Sony Xperia Z5 series handsets.
A couple of days back, it came to light that Samsung had opted not to include Qualcomm’s latest fast-charging technology in the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge. This decision was made despite the fact that US, China and Japan’s models are equipped with the Snapdragon 820 processor, which we know is capable of supporting Quick-Charge 3.0. Sony, likewise it seems, has opted not to include Quick Charge 3.0 support in any of its new Xperia X phones.
While Sony’s Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact have just made their way to the US, their British equivalents should start getting Marshmallow early next month. According to the Xperia UK Twitter account, the Z5 series, Z4 Tablet, and Z3+ should get Android 6.0 on March 7th with more details coming later.
Over the past few months, Sony has been testing various concept software, offering it up to Xperia owners as part of a limited public beta test. One XDA Developers member was able to port the home launcher and release it as a downloadable APK which works on any Android device with Lollipop or later, and doesn’t require rooting. Needless to say, we were eager to go hands-on…
Sony doesn’t really have the best history of selling their smartphones in the United States, and this probably won’t help them. Yesterday, Sony announced that the five-month-old Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact are coming unlocked to US retailers starting next month. It appears, though, that these devices have a very important caveat: no fingerprint sensor.
Hot on the heels of announcing the brand new pink version of its flagship smartphone, Sony has announced that it’s bringing the Xperia Z5 and Z5 Compact to the US market starting next month. Once they land, it’ll mark the first time the company has sold its unlocked smartphones in the States since the Xperia Z3.
Spec-wise, both phones are up there with the best of the phones from 2015…
Surprisingly few smartphone makers used CES as a platform to announce, or even tease, new Android products this year. Arguably, only Huawei took the opportunity to show off its new products at the biggest US-based trade show this year. With that said, Mobile World Congress is shaping up to be really busy this year. The conference kicks off at the end of next month, and many manufacturers are expected to unveil their spring/summer portfolios at the Barcelona event. Sony being one of them…
Sony has joined the likes of Motorola, HTC and Google in announcing which of its products will (eventually) receive the sought-after update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Sony’s list includes several Xperia devices, old and new, and spans devices back to 2013. So, even if you have a Sony Xperia M5, you’ll be able to get the brand new OS on your device at some point. The Xperia-makers state in their blog post that they’ve “been working hard to bring this major update to as many of our devices as possible, as quickly as we can.”
When the Xperia Z family first launched a few years ago, Sony proudly advertised their waterproof capabilities. For almost every generation of phone, up until this year, the hardware manufacturer used imaged of phones being used to take photos in swimming pools, or in the sea, as a way to sell its products. They’ve even come with some impressive-sound IP-rated certificates to prove their durability under water. And, while the the Xperia Z5 range comes with IP68 rated waterproofing, you might want to refrain from taking them to the beach to take your own underwater pics…
Sony has struggled in recent years to stand out in an ever-crowded smartphone market. During a keynote yesterday that saw Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai say that the “best is yet to come” for the Japanese technology company, we got to see a slew of much-anticipated Android-powered Xperia Z5 smartphones. We did not, however, learn what the prices would be. Now it seems we have, and they’re not cheap…
Expand
Expanding
Close
Two last minute leaks seemingly confirm the Sony Xperia Z5‘s existence, and show off the smartphone in some of the best quality images we’ve seen yet. A retail store poster appears to reaffirm previous rumors that we’re going to see Sony announce a small, medium and large version of the Xperia Z5 at IFA a little later today.
Ahead of its official press announcement in Berlin later this week, Sony’s upcoming flagship smartphone family has been shown on video in what appears to be a pre-release interview recording with press, which somehow managed to find its way to YouTube. The video is in French, and YouTube’s auto-translating tool isn’t the hottest. Still, we’re now expecting Sony to release a trio of smartphones.
Sony Mobile has practically made it a tradition to unveil new devices at the IFA trade show in Berlin, and this year should be no different. Sony Xperia Great Britain has tweeted today that eager Sony smartphone fans should get ready for “a smartphone with greater focus,” and that all will become clear on the 2nd of September.
A fresh, official-looking, image of the upcoming Xperia Z5 Compact has shown up in a new leaked promotional photo courtesy of Dutch tech blog, TechTastic. There’s nothing entirely remarkable about the image itself, but the very fact the device is showing up in promotional images prior to launch is a good indication that Sony is preparing its marketing ready for its arrival.
Just a few days after the press renders leaked, Sony has officially taken the wraps off its newest ‘super mid-range smartphones’. The Xperia C5 Ultra is a large phablet, while the M5 is a more traditional size and shape for a smartphone. Both are aiming to offer almost-flagship specs for a lower price, and will hit store shelves in select markets from the middle of August.
Sony confirmed in a blog post that its Android 5.1 update for the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z2 device family is rolling out now. Devices including the Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact, Z3 Tablet Compact, Xperia Z2, and Z2 Tablet are part of this current wave of software releases.
As always, if you have a carrier device you may have to wait a few weeks or months for your network operator to give its approval to the software. If you have the unlocked model, however, you could see the update any day now. Be sure to keep checking for updates in your settings menu if you haven’t already received a notification to download the OTA.
Included in the Android 5.1 Lollipop update are the following new features:
Older Xperia products will be getting the update “over the coming weeks”, according to Sony. Devices like the Z1, Z1 Compact and Xperia Z Ultra will be first in line before the T2 Ultra, Xperia C3 and original Xperia Z are updated a little while later.
Update: Burson-Marsteller, the public relations agency of record in North America for Sony’s mobile division, has emailed us to clarify that “the copy displayed on the microsite is not accurate.” They went on to say that no official announcement regarding the launch date has been made, and that they have no information to provide at this time.
The Sony Xperia Z4v, the United States variant of the Xperia Z4, will be launching as an exclusive to Verizon on August 13th. Verizon hasn’t yet made any public announcement but a keen eye at XperiaBlog.net noticed Sony’s Z4v website now has a bold header at the top which says, “Experience the freedom to play August 13.”
Expand
Expanding
Close
Sony’s mid-range, IP68-certified dust and water resistant smartphone has started showing up on store shelves in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, but those of us in the US have been mostly in the dark – until today, however.
The phone is being sold on Amazon through a reseller, but fulfilled by Amazon, for $349 unlocked in black with 8GB of onboard storage (no microSD card included). The LTE bands this phone can connect to are supported on all the major US carriers, so bringing it to your favorite shouldn’t be a problem.
You might want to get a microSD card to go along with it, however, as the M4 Aqua out of the box only has 1.26GB of free storage. The phone is otherwise packing a solid punch for the price with a 5.0″ 720 x 1280 pixel-resolution screen, a 1GHz octa-core Snapdragon 610 processor, 13MP rear shooter, and 2GB of RAM.
Three new phones in Sony’s already large Xperia lineup are now shipping and hitting store shelves. XperiaBlog reports that its begun seeing both the water-resistant Xperia M4 Aqua and its dual-SIM variant the M4 Aqua dual showing up on store shelves in retailers across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East while Sony Mobile has confirmed the “The World’s Best Selfie Smartphone,” the C4, has begun shipping to the Asia-Pacific region.
The M4 Aqua, pictured below, is offered in white, black, and coral color options and has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. It’s a fairly mid-range phone featuring a 5.0″ 720 x 1280 pixel-resolution screen, a 1GHz octa-core Snapdragon 610 processor, and 2GB of RAM.
The Xperia C4, meanwhile, is a more powerful phone – Sony’s first with an octa-core processor – that is all about selfies, and even has its own PROselfie® registered trademark. What makes the C4 good for taking selfies is that the front-facing camera has a 28mm wide-angle lens, 5MP Sony Exmor R mobile sensor (Sony says the rear camera is good too, though), and front-facing LED flash. Sony says that in a test against the competition in 6 different picture-taking scenarios (low-light, outdoor, etc), the C4 came out on top, and has posted a full report on the results. There’s a dual-SIM variant of the C4 shipping as well, and the phone will be available in white, black, or mint color schemes. Sony says the rollout will reach other regions “within the coming weeks.”
If there’s one smartphone manufacturer punching above the rest to provide the latest software from Google to the greatest amount of customers, it’s Sony. The company posted to its blog today that not only is Android 5.1 Lollipop rolling out to the whole series of Xperia Z-Z3 phones as well as the Xperia ZL, ZR, and Tablet Z right now, but July will be the beginning of a Lollipop rollout for even more devices.
First, in July the Xperia T2 Ultra and Xperia C3 will get the update. Then starting “a little after we’ve made the update available for the Xperia Z Series,” the M2 and M2 Aqua will go directly to Android 5.1.
The company says to hang tight for more updates on each of these rollouts (noting that timing may vary by market and/or carrier) and follow them @SonyMobileNews on Twitter for information as its released, or keeping checking the blog. We’ll continue to keep you posted on these rollouts as well.
When Sony announced its new flagship smartphone back in April, the Xperia Z4, there wasn’t a solid launch date other than this summer for the Japan market. Now, it appears Sony’s team in China has announced a May 26 launch date, meaning we could see the device sooner rather than later outside of Japan.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Sony is rolling out a new firmware update for Xperia Z2 and Z3 devices, with a number of improvements and bug fixes for Android 5.0 Lollipop. The update covers the Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3 Compact, Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z2 Tablet.
Sony has brought back the ‘close all apps’ button in the activity menu, enabled lock-screen notifications that work on all devices, ensured the LED light remains available in all sound modes and made a number of other bug fixes.
Sony first rolled out Lollipop to the Z3 last month.
The Xperia Z4 smartphone isn’t exactly a secret, but now Sony has come out to officially announce the device in Japan. It’s basically the smartphone version of the Xperia Z4 tablet that was announced in March, and like that device, it doesn’t seem to be much of a visual overhaul compared to its predecessor. It does pack some pretty hefty upgrades on the inside, though, including an upgraded SoC and front-facing camera…
Expand
Expanding
Close
