Sony Android 4.3 upgrade plans detailed for select Xperia devices

Fresh off the Android 4.3 announcement from Google, Sony has offered some details in terms of which devices would be getting an update. So far there is talk of six Xperia devices getting the update to Android 4.3. And coming in addition there was also mention of some Android 4.2 plans as well as some plans to have devices jump from Android 4.1 to Android 4.3.

With that in mind, those lucky six devices that have been confirmed for an Android 4.3 update include the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia SP and the Xperia Z Ultra. On the flip side of this positive sounding news — Sony has yet to offer anything in terms of a timeline. And on top of that, we also know that carriers will often stand in the way of a speedy delivery so they can take some time for testing.

Shifting over to the Android 4.2 news and there was mention of the update being “well underway” for the Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. There was also mention that the Xperia ZR and the Xperia Tablet Z will be getting Android 4.2 beginning in early-August. Again, the timeline for this update will likely come down to carrier approvals. There were not many specifics about which devices may be jumping from Android 4.1 to Android 4.3 though.

On this topic Sony has simply said they are “looking at uplifting some of our other devices running 4.1 direct to 4.3.” In addition there were comments about how the will share more details when they can. Moving away from the talk of getting the updates, Sony also took some time to break down just what goes into getting an update ready for a device.

Basically, they detailed the process which was said to consist of “two main phases.” These include the bring up phase and the test certification and approval phase. And while that makes it sound rather simple, the process actually involves quite a bit more.

They have to make sure the software runs, make sure the basic functionality goes into place, integrate any Android patches, add the Sony features, test and make sure the software is all stable and then get it certified and approved. Of course, this just back to earlier in the post when we mentioned how these updates sometimes take some and that the carrier can sometimes cause the process to go slower than one would hope for.

SOURCE: Sony Mobile, Sony Developer World