Now that Google made their big announcement last week about the release of Android 6.0 (also known as Android M or Marshmallow) to its new Nexus phones, the Nexus 5X and 6P, it is really only a matter of time before the rollout will affect some of the older yet newer Android devices from such mobile kings as Samsung, HTC, Motorola, and Sony. Fortunately, when it comes to Sony, a full list has already been made available and it includes the Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, Z5 Premium, Z4, Z3 and Z2 Series.
According to Sony Mobile's blog, the complete list is as follows: Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, Xperia Z5 Premium, Xperia Z4 Tablet, Xperia Z3+, Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, Xperia Z2, Xperia Z2 Tablet, Xperia M5, Xperia C5, Ultra Xperia M4 Aqua and Xperia C4. Not only does Sony have a list of their upgradeable devices, but they are "excited about the new Sony features and functionality and improvements we've made to the user experience-and we'll be sharing more soon".
So when will the release date for Android 6.0 be happening on the aforementioned Sony devices? Well, if you have had a Sony device with Android, then you probably know that drill. It often takes months for the latest version of Android to come to even the latest version of certain flagship devices, and Sony is no exception. Once the latest version of Android comes to the newest flagship device, it is then a slow rollout to the older models.
In fact, the Sony Xperia Z5, which comes in two other models, Compact and Premium, will probably not have Marshmallow out of the box, even though some versions haven't even got into the hands of consumers as yet. In visiting GSM Arena, which tells the specs for all sorts of phones, one can see each phone in the Z5 series. Each one lists the operating system as Android 5.1.1, which is the latest version of Android on most of the newer Android smartphones, but still not even close to Android M.
It is probably a safe bet to say that users of the three new Z5 devices are probably not going to be receiving their Marshmallow update until later this year. Last year, Sony was very slow when it came to the rollout of Android 5.0, also known as Android L or Lollipop in its then flagship phone the Xperia Z3. This puts Marshmallow into the hands of Sony Xperia Z5 users of hopefully all variations by Q1 2016 at the latest.
From there, it will then be a matter of time before the Z4 tablet gets it, along with all the phones in the Z3 series. It is really interesting that Sony has chosen to upgrade the Z2, which is an odd choice a lot of devices that are two years old are often ineligible for the latest version of Android.
