Got an Xperia Z3 and a home address somewhere in the Kingdom of Sweden? Sony wants your help with testing its next round of software updates for Android, which the company has rounded up in an initiative it’s calling “Android concept.” The goal, says Sony, is to develop new software “from the ground up,” meaning no additional Google Play apps like YouTube on the test build, just the core Google communications software and Sony’s stack of custom apps like Camera, Music, and Xperia Lounge.
Yet another random, disparate, limited, little, and utterly insignificant ‘effort’ to merely test bringing regular updates to Android devices. This is pointless. This is not what Android needs. At all.
Android needs Google to step up and reign its OEMs in.
Google has zero leverage. The OEMs can simply fork Android or switch to Windows. [Remember there are no Google services at all on Chinese Android phones.]
Not “reign its OEMs in.” I’m sure Thom knows this and it was just a slip-up, but it just irked me a tad
On the other hand, the dumbest thing about Apple’s release cycle is that they are still tying user applications to OS updates. There is absolutely no reason why buggy client apps should wait months for an update just because it comes as part of the next IOS or OSX point release.
Microsoft and Google are way ahead compared to this stupidity. So while the base Android operating system may not be updated for most users, at least the apps that people really care about typically get stead and frequent updates.
If another company were doing this, well, maybe, but not Sony.
Sony already provides regular updates for many of their phones – all their Xperia Z phone are at 5.0.2, with the 5.1 rollout starting a couple days ago.
The Z series is their most popular, and encompasses a number of models and a huge chunk of their user base.
Also, all of them have unlockable bootloaders (unless carriers prevent it), with instructions provided by Sony themselves, and they operate a GitHub site with the latest AOSP builds.
Basically, the opposite of what you’re describing. Sony is among the best of the OEMs with this regard.
Exactly. If anybody wants stock android on a Sony device, it is really not that hard and Sony supported bootloader unlocking and fastboot since the Sony Ericcson times.
And I also don’t understand why the hell one would argue against customization and diversification of the Android platform by third parties.
I mean I know the examples of crappy bundled software loaded on a phone that is also access restricted by several means. But they are Samsung, not Sony.
Yeah, Samsung are pretty much douche bags when it comes to hacking together their own crap.
Though if someone else made a device like the Note 4 with a companion device like the Gear S (both of which I have now) it’d be great.
Either way, I still don’t really like Android and I wished another Linux based OS would be able to catch on as well as Android has, like Sailfish or even QNX based BB10. Either OS is superior.
I’d rather not be a guinea pig.
From what I’ve read about this update, it’s a move by Sony to make their skin even more like vanilla Android than it already is. You should be praising Sony rather than condemning them for this; Sony Mobile is one of the least evil parts of their empire really. 😉
Sony is probably the best Android OEM and they are doing all they can. They should be commended for this.
That on a global scale Sony is not big enough to change Android is clear, so complaining about this in an Android article is perfectly fine.
But complaining about this in a Sony article and calling it pointless? Then please stop posting about all those pointless other OS’s and manufacturers that we love to read about on OSNews because on the global scale those are also pointless.
Blame Google, Blame carriers, blame other OEM’s, but praise Sony for initiatives like this