Android Lollipop OS Update Release Imminent for Entire Xperia Z Series; Software Testing in Final Stage, Confirms Sony

Sony is reportedly planning to release the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop to the entire Xperia Z series of smartphones soon.

Soon after the official launch of Android 5.0 Lollipop by Google, Sony announced to roll out the new update in early 2015 to its flagship smartphones.

Later, it said the update will be pushed to Xperia Z3 in February, but we are in the month of March and yet there is no word as to when the software is going to be released.

Just when the anger among Sony device owners is about to get escalated, the company (via Twitter) has announced that software testing is in its final stage and would be deployed soon to all Xperia Z series devices.

Many fans weren't impressed with the company's tweet and panned Sony for not keeping the promise of releasing Lollipop OS to its devices early in the year.

However, some were sympathetic of the delay and hoped the update to be glitch-free.

One reader, going by the name Andrew Jackson, said-".@SonyMobileNews I'd rather have a rock-solid update later than an early, buggy update. :-)"

In reply, Sony said – ".@AndrewJacksonZA that's absolutely our priority. ^JM."

In Sony's defence, Google had released bug-ridden Android 5.0 Lollipop to Nexus devices and it had to release two stability update 5.0.1 and 5.0.2.

This apparently forced few Tier-1 brands – Samsung, HTC and Motorola to reschedule the software update release programme to a month and finally released v5.0.2 update to their respective devices.

Still, there were reports of glitches present in the latest update, this apparently forced the Google team to re-work on source codes and has already begun deploying new major MR (Maintenance Release) v5.1 Lollipop to Android One series in India.

Some of the recently launched Google's Android One devices in Indonesia and the Philippines come with v5.1 OS out-of-the-box.

It is learnt that the new Android 5.1 Lollipop comes with improved RAM and battery management, general improvements in the system like "OK Google" and bug fixes. The most significant feature is the inclusion of the silent mode, which was sorely missed in Android v5.0.

At this point, we are not sure whether Sony will release v5.1 or v5.0.2 to its Xperia Z series, but most Sony device owners expect the update to be glitch-free, so that the delay is worth the wait. We believe Xperia Z3 will be the first device to get the new Lollipop first, then later to Z2, Z1 and other older Z series handsets.

Android Lollipop OS comes with a completely refurbished design language – 'Material design' – bringing interactive user interface, lots of animation graphics, replacement of Dalvik with ART as its default runtime will bring improvement in the performance and battery-life enhancements.

[Also read: Android 5.0 Lollipop: Top Key Features of New Google Mobile OS]