Sony Mobile might have been slow in delivering the Android 6.0 Marshmallow firmware upgrade, but the Japanese tech company was finally able to roll out the new firmware to its Xperia Z5, Z4 Tablet and Z3+ handsets in UK.
Phones Review stated that it was way back in October last year when Sony confirmed the Xperia handsets that are eligible for the Android 6.0 Marshmallow firmware upgrade. The Sony Xperia Z5, Sony Xperia Z5 Compact as well as the Z5 Premium are reportedly in-line with the software update. This may seem quite a wait for some devices, but at least not for the Z5 line, the Z4 Tablet, and Xperia Z3+.
It was previously reported that the Android 6.0 Marshmallow has already started to roll out for some units of the Xperia Z5 in Turkey. Recently, the official Sony GB Twitter account has answered a query about when the update will be released.
According to Tech Times, the tweet revealed the March 7 release date that most likely refers only to the UK Android 6.0 roll out, as Sony's UK branch doesn't speak for the whole company. This only shows that it's still just a tentative schedule, without actually committing to a specific roll out date. At the same time, such social media updates from company representatives don't always turn out to be accurate. But if it is true, it shouldn't take too long for the update to reach other markets as well, including the U.S.
For reference, International Business Times cited that Sony had launched Xperia Beta Program to test Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS in October 2015. During that time, the company only allowed a limited number of 10,000 registered users to try the new OS. Moreover, it only Sony Xperia Z3 or Z3 Compact owners were permitted to join the Android beta program.
From the start, the beta program was accessible for 11 countries such as the U.K, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Latvia, Iceland, Lithuania and Estonia. Now, it has added support for few more countries like Spain, Italy and Netherlands. In addition, the Xperia Z2 owners can also join the Xperia Beta Program.
This beta program was released to assist the Sony UI team to let users try the new Android Marshmallow OS overlaid with Sony's Xperia software so that they can eradicate all the bugs before making the upgrade available for all Sony Xperia owners. It was noted that the beta program has received overwhelming response from the audience.
Owners of the Sony Xperia Z5, Z4 Tablet and Z3+ can expect the Android 6.0 Marshmallow firmware by next month. Moreover, Xperia Z5 Compact, Z5 Premium, Xperia Z4 series, Xperia Z3 series, Xperia Z3 Compact, Xperia Z2 series, Xperia M5, Xperia M4 Aqua, Xperia C5 Ultra and Xperia C4 will also receive its own Marshmallow version soon.
