Sony, which was once a massive name in the smartphone market has been very dominantly played out by the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Realme, etc. and Sony has not been able to bring out their best to sustain in the market. Although the company has been on its toes and we can see Xperia devices packing some innovative tech, like the last years, 21:9 ration display, 4K display panel, etc. but, these features are yet to be accepted by the end-users. However, the company has been pretty adamant in terms of providing the latest updates and has upgraded a bunch of its smartphones, mostly flagships to the Android 11 update.
But, in this post, we will keep you posted about all the information related to the next iteration of the Android OS, i.e. the Android 11 update. Google is prepping up with the testing phase and soon in September, we can expect the Android 11 firmware to be out. As Sony Xperia users, you might be pretty curious to know whether your device will get the update or not. In this post, we will give you a list of speculated devices that will get the update. Note that this list is just on the basis of information available and can change first hand, So, that being said, let us take a look at the article itself:
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3 Official Android 11 Developer Preview and Beta release:
What’s on Android 11?
The Android 11 Developer Preview 1 is here and Google is planning to roll out in total, 6 updates before the stable Android 11 update is pushed out for the public. You can check out the image below which depicts the time frame of when the updates will be pushed.
Going by the timeline as mentioned above, the developer previews will be rolled out till April 2020 and starting from May 2020, the compatible devices will be served with the Android 11 beta update and finally is Q3 2020, the final and stable build of Android 11 will be made available for the OEMs. Google I/O event is going to take place at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California between May 12 and 14, 2020. It is that time, when Google will unveil it’s latest OS i.e. the Android 11 and then in September, probably will roll out the stable update.
For more info, check out our video on Android 11 Developer Preview
Android 11 Features
Talking about the features of the Android 11, you can check out the list of new features and enhancements it brings:
- Scheduled Dark Theme
- ‘Conversations’ Section in Notification Shade
- Built-in Screen Recorder
- Pin Apps in the Share Menu
- Send Images in Notification Replies
- New APIs for 5G
- Reverse Wireless Charging Support (Google Pixel 4a or 5)
- Use Bluetooth Headphones in Airplane Mode
- Scrolling screenshots
- Bubble Notifications on by Default
- New Back Cover Gestures (Likely Pixel-Exclusive)
- Show Refresh Rate
- Power Menu Toggles
- Quick Access Wallet
- New Permissions Options
- Background Location Access Must Be Granted Manually
- Auto-Block Spammy Permission Prompts
- New Scoped Storage Permission
- New Motion Sense Gesture (Pixel 4)
- New Notification History UI
- Increase Touch Sensitivity
- Better Back Sensitivity
- Mobile Drivers License Support
- Changes to BiometricPrompt API
- Improved Call Screening
- Support for Punch Hole & Waterfall Displays
- Disable Vibrations While Using the Camera
- HDMI Low-Latency Mode
- Low Latency Video Decoding
- New Bluetooth Stack
- Separated Quick Settings & Notification Tray
- Music Player in Quick Settings
- Unsupported Bluetooth Codecs Are Now Grayed Out
- Suggested Apps in Home Screen Dock
Official Android 11 Developer Preview and Beta release:
As mentioned above, there will be a total of 6 updates of Android 11 before the final stable updates are provided to the OEMs after which the OEMs will tweak the Android 11 according to their custom skins and roll out for the masses. Below is the official Android 11 Developer Preview and Beta release timeline:
| TIMELINE | BUILD | TYPE | DEVELOPER ACTIONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | Developer Preview 1 | Early baseline build focused on developer feedback, with new features, APIs, and behavior changes. | Priority window for feedback on APIs. Explore new APIs and behavior changes and report any critical issues or requests to us during this time. |
| March | Developer Preview 2 | Incremental update with additional features, APIs, and behavior changes. | Give us feedback as you work with APIs and behavior changes. Begin early app compatibility testing. |
| April | Developer Preview 3 | Incremental update for stability and performance. | Get apps ready for consumers Beta. Continue compatibility testing, publish updates without changing targeting. Notify SDK and library developers of any issues. |
| May | Beta 1 | Initial beta-quality release, over-the-air update to early adopters who enroll in Android Beta. | Continue compatibility testing, watch for feedback from Android Beta users. Start early testing with targeting Android 11. |
| June | Beta 2 | Platform Stability milestone. Final APIs and behaviors. Play publishing opens. | Start final compatibility testing for apps, SDKs, and libraries. Release compatible versions. Continue work to target Android 11. |
| Q3 | Beta 3 | Release candidate builds. | Release compatible updates for apps, SDKs, and libraries. Continue work to target Android 11. Build with new features and APIs. |
| Q3 | Final release | Android 11 release to AOSP and ecosystem. | Release compatible updates for apps, SDKs, and libraries. Continue |
Supported Devices List
Although there is no confirmed piece of information regarding the list of Android 11 supported devices by Sony as of now, as it is still very early days of Android 11, here is a tentative list that you can go through:
Sony Xperia 10 II
Sony Xperia 10 II has been announced although the phone is yet to go on sale. It runs on Android 10 out-of-the-box that makes it one of the first candidates to get Android 11 R once the latter is available. It could be bumped into the upcoming OS by Q1 2021 although it is just an assumption at the moment.
Android 11 R Status: Probably Q1 2021
Sony Xperia Pro
The yet-to-go-on sale Sony Xperia Pro is indeed a professional device with Snapdragon 865 and 5G technology. The device will roll out with Android 10 which makes it among the few from Sony to get two major Android OS upgrades i.e. both Android 11 R and Android 12 S. However, we aren’t aware of the timeline although we could assume it sometime in Q4 2020 or Q1 2021 depending upon when the phone arrives for sale.
Android 11 R Status: Probably Q4 2020 or Q1 2021
Sony Xperia 1 II
Sony Xperia 1 II was announced in February 2020 and it is awaiting launch. The device is a flagship with Snapdragon 865 SoC on-board and runs on Android 10 out-of-the-box. This makes it one of the best devices from Sony to get Android 11 sometime in Q4 2020 or Q1 2021 although the official timeline is still unavailable.
Android 11 R Status: Probably Q4 2020 or Q1 2021
Sony Xperia 1
Sony Xperia 1 is a flagship smartphone released last year in February with Android 9.0 Pie out-of-the-box. With the flagship status, the device has been upgraded to Android 10 Q already. The device is slated to get its second update to Android 11 R although the timeline remains unavailable. It is suspected that the update could arrive in Q4 2020 or Q1 2021 but we still have to wait for the exact date.
Android 11 R Status: Probably Q4 2020 or Q1 2021
Sony Xperia 10
Sony Xperia 10 was launched alongside Xperia 1 with mid-range specifications and Android 9.0 Pie out-of-the-box. It is also expected to be bumped up with the Android 11 upgrade and again, since there’s no official timeline or roadmap available, we aren’t sure exactly when it could get the update.
Android 11 R Status: It is likely to get Android 11
Sony Xperia 10 Plus
Xperia 10 Plus is a bit enhanced version of Xperia 10. With Snapdragon 636 SoC, the device was launched back in February 2019 running on Android 9.0 Pie. It is one of the handful of devices from Sony Xperia that are likely to get Android 11 R although we aren’t aware of the Android 11 roadmap yet.
Android 11 R Status: Eligible
Sony Xperia 5
Sony Xperia 5 is another flagship device from Sony with Snapdragon 855 under the hood. The device arrived in October 2019 with Android 9.0 Pie and upgraded to Android 10 later. Just like Xperia 1, it is also in line to get upgraded to Android 11 R once it is available. It could be between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 but let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Android 11 R Status: Q4 2020 and Q1 2021
Sony Xperia XZ3
Sony Xperia XZ3 launched in October 2018 with Android 9.0 Pie out-of-the-box. The device is currently on Android 10 which is its first upgrade and citing the fact that it is a flagship phone (of 2018), it is likely to get an Android 11 R upgrade although the timeline is available.
Android 11 R Status: It is likely to get Android 11
Sony Xperia XZ2
Xperia XZ2 was released with Android 8.0 Oreo and now it is running on Android 10. The thing is, this device has already received two major updates so what are the chances it will receive a third upgrade? Well, apparently, Xperia XZ2 is speculated to receive Android 11 so until it is not confirmed, there’s a possibility that it might receive an update.
Android 11 R Status: It may or may not get Android 11
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact
Debuted with Android 8.0 Oreo, the phone is currently running on Android 10 and has already finished two years of its support. It is currently speculated to get Android 11 so let’s say it is likely to get the update. We need to wait until the official report by Sony is published regarding the Android 11 update.
Android 11 R Status: It may or may not get Android 11
Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium
Sony launched Xperia XZ2 Premium back in July 2018. It arrived with Android 8.0 Oreo and is currently running on Android 10 Q. It is speculated to be upgraded to Android 11 as well but that needs to be confirmed so we will need to wait for the official timeline to arrive.
Android 11 R Status: It may or may not get Android 11
Sony Xperia L4
The device is yet to be released and once it does, it will be running on Android 9.0 Pie out-of-the-box, that is if it doesn’t get canceled. It may or may not see Android 11 R in its lifetime as we are not clear on it yet.
Android 11 R Status: It may or may not get Android 11
Release Date
As of now, there is no information related to the Android 11 update release date but, it is expected to be soon shared by the OEM once the Android 11 firmware update is available for the OEMs. We will keep you posted once the information surfaces the internet.
This article originally appeared on https://www.getdroidtips.com/sony-xperia-android-11/
