Japanese electronic giant Sony announced in May it would launch its latest smartphone, the Xperia Z4 exclusively in Japan. Later, Sony said the Xperia Z4 will be made available on other countries under the Xperia Z3+ to distinguish it from the existing Xperia Z3 that is still selling on the shelves across the world.

The Sony Xperia Z4 was introduced in Japan on June 10 where it received lukewarm reception from smartphone users, said Android Headline. For one, the Xperia Z4 has very little improvement compared to its predecessor, the Xperia Z3, with only visible upgrade is the uncovered charging port but it still retains its IP68 certification that prevents water from sipping in even of the phone is submerged and protects the hardware from any dust particles.

With the uncovered charger port, it is now easier to charge the Xperia Z4, the magnetic port for the dock in the left of the device has been removed and the front-facing stereo speakers are now less visible as they are located near the edges of the device. It is also thinner and lighter and the metal of the frame has been treated to shine more. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor with a slight improvement on the front camera.

As stated, the Sony Xperia Z4 will be available to the rest of the world under the name Sony Xperia Z3+. This new Sony flagship smartphone is slated for release to other markets this month, said Tech Radar.

Sony Xperia Z4 or Z3+ will retain its unique Omnibalance style, 6.9mm thickness, a 144g glass-and-aluminium body, a 5.2-inch 1920 x 1080 display, despite early rumors hinting the screen would be 5.5 inches. The smartphone will sport a 20.7MP rear camera while the front camera for selfies is a 5.1MP resolution and a 25mm focal length for better wide-angle.

Sony Xperia Z3, Z2 Android 5.1 Lollipop Update

French network carrier SFR (Société française de radiotéléphone) has confirmed that the Android 5.1 Lollipop would be rolled out for the Sony Xperia Z3 and Z2 series this August, said IBTimes. SFR added that Xperia Z and Tablet Z will receive the incremental firmware in September.

The Android v5.1 Lollipop is a stability firmware that brings enhancements to ART (Android Run Time), allowing apps load faster and fix the memory leak issue that used to cause constant crash of apps, after updating Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Google's Android 5.1 update features new bug fixes and as well as several tweaks that makes it attractive for Samsung to use Android 5.1 to fix lingering problems and add some of the same features.