Sony Confirms Premium Xperia Smartphones to Get Two Years of Software Support

Sony is one of the very few Android smartphone manufacturers to push faster software updates, at least for its high-end smartphones. Compared to other major manufacturers, Sony also keeps its Xperia UI close to stock Android. Even before the Pixel 2 launch, Sony came up with the Xperia XZ1 and XZ1 Compact smartphones with Android 8.0 Oreo onboard. At the upcoming MWC 2018, the company is rumored to unveil the Xperia XZ1 Premium smartphone.

Before the company’s first ever launch event in 2018, Sony now updated its Android Upgrade Policy. According to the latest revision, the premium Xperia smartphones are guaranteed to receive two years of software updates. All the premium Sony Xperia smartphones launched with Android 8.0 Oreo on board will be receiving the Android P (Android Peppermint?) and Android Q updates.

Talking about the Mid-range and Entry-level devices, the company might ignore releasing new updates if the hardware isn’t capable. Coming to the Android Security Patch updates, the devices might receive the new update separately or as a part of standard firmware updates. While Sony directly releases the updates for the unlocked devices, the updates for the carrier-locked Xperia devices will still depend on the respective carriers.

However, not many manufacturers have revealed their policy towards software updates. For the latest Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones, Google has promised to provide Android software updates and monthly security patch updates for three years.

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