Sony has already publicly revealed the mobile devices it plans to update to Android Nougat. The company has even come forward to clear the air as to why it won’t be updating a fan favourite that was even part of the early Nougat preview tests, the Xperia Z3.
What we’ve lacked, however, is a clear roadmap of when exactly Sony plans to update the 9 Xperia smartphones it confirmed it will be focusing on and the two new ones that have since joined its 2016 lineup.
Thanks to a leaked roadmap, we now know the company’s plans. The new Xperia XZ phablet and the Xperia X Performance smartphone, will be the first devices to make the jump to Android Nougat from Marshmallow. That will be next month, in October. The remainder of the Xperia X series of devices will see their updates spread through two update cycles. One in November involing the Xperia X and Xperia X Compact smartphones and another in early 2017 that will bring Android 7 to the XA and the XA Ultra.
The Xperia Z series will be taken care of this Decemeber when the Z3+, Z4, Z5, Z5 Compact and Z5 Premium get their update to the latest Android flavour.
Sony Mobile recently opened up an Android Nougat beta testing program. Users of the Xperia X Performance in select markets are being notified through the Xperia Lounge app to join the program and help the company test Android 7.0 builds before it eventually starts mass rollout.
On the other hand, such roadmaps (we’ve seen so many before) are never binding in anyway hence the reason most companies shy away from giving public timelines for updates. So, while it’s given the above devices will get Android Nougat, it may or may not be within the above timelines.
Lack of mention of any other smartphones in the leaked roadmap deals a blow to several rumours that had pointed to some mid-range Xperias from the last one and a half years getting some Nougat love from Sony. That’s not happening, it seems.
