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Back in August, Sony announced that the XZ2 family, XZ1 family, and XZ Premium would be receiving their Android 9 Pie updates in November. Last month, the XZ2 and XZ2 Compact received their OTAs ahead of schedule. Now, the XZ Premium, XZ1, and XZ1 Compact are getting theirs.
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Google has rolled out Android Pie to Pixel devices, and Essential managed to get an update out on the same day. A few OEMs like Moto and HTC have offered some insight on what they're updating. Today, you can add Sony to the list. It says updates are coming to devices in XZ2, XZ1, and XA2 families. Some of them might be here sooner than you expect.
Phones are getting massive, and even the smaller versions of Android flagships these days aren't all that small. The Pixel 2 has a 5.0" display, the Galaxy S8 a 5.8" unit (the 18:9 ratio skews that a bit), the P20 a 5.8-incher, and so on. Sony is the only holdout in the game with its 4.6" Xperia XZ1 Compact. If you long for a phone that you can easily use one-handed, this phone might be your match. It's currently down to an all-time low of 9.99 on Best Buy and Amazon, as well as 9.99 on B&H if you like pink.The last time we posted about a deal on the XZ1 Compact was back in November when it fell to the $450 mark. Its 720p resolution may seem low, but on a 4.6" panel, it's perfectly adequate. It's powered by the Snapdragon 835 and comes with 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage with microSD expansion, a 19MP 'Motion Eye' camera with 960fps slow-motion, an 8MP front-facing camera, and a 2,700mAh battery. Also present are front-facing speakers, IP68 water resistance, and Android 8.0 Oreo. US GSM carrier compatibility is great; in fact, the XZ1 Compact actually supports T-Mobile's band 12 LTE and Wi-Fi calling.This $399.99 price point is the lowest we've ever seen. Best Buy has all four colors at that figure, but Amazon only has the black model for that much. If you're a fan of strangely-colored phones, you can actually pick a 'Twilight Pink' Compact up for just $379.99 from B&H. Other colors are hovering around $430 and $450 on B&H and Amazon, respectively. Hit the source links below to grab an XZ1 Compact of your very own.Source: Amazon, Best Buy, B&H
When it comes to security, Android devices are a mixed bag - to say the least. Few manufacturers make promises about long-term support, and timely security updates are rare. This is understandably a concern for large businesses, which often don't want to worry about security flaws or constantly deploy new devices. For many enterprise customers, the question of which Android phones should be used is difficult to answer.
Android phone buyers have been begging Google for years to do something about the platform's typically slow updates. As of this month, Android 8.0 Oreo only has 0.3% market share among Android devices, Marshmallow (released in 2015) is still at 30%, and Lollipop (from 2014) sits at 27%. Google's latest attempt to solve this problem is 'Project Treble,' a major restructuring of Android that is part of 8.0 Oreo.
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Most of you may be under the impression that Google's Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will be the first phones out with Android 8.0 Oreo. But it's not those two, or even the LG V30, that can claim that honor; it's actually Sony's Xperia XZ1. And now, you can grab one of these Oreo-toting phones for just a hair over $605 on Amazon through Focus Camera, with no tax charged unless you're in New York or New Jersey. That's a decent bit lower than the $650 price we spotted a few weeks ago.The Xperia XZ1 sports a 5.2" 1080p HDR display topped with Gorilla Glass 5, a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with microSD expansion, a 19MP main camera, a 13MP selfie shooter, and a 2700mAh battery. Other noteworthy features include a 7.4mm-thin frame, IP68 certification against water and dust, 960fps slow-motion video capture, and dual SIM capabilities. Unfortunately, the US-market phone doesn't get a fingerprint sensor on board.
Remember when we all thought the Galaxy Nexus's 4.65" display was enormous? Those days are long gone, but thankfully, Sony will still sell you a flagship with a screen about that large. The Xperia XZ1 Compact, originally priced at $599.99, has dropped to just $449 on eBay with a coupon code. Alternatively, you can grab one from Best Buy for $499.99 and get a free $50 gift card included.
Today, virtually the smallest mainstream Android flagship on the market is the 5.0" Pixel 2. That's a nice phone, but it's pricey and might still be too big for your liking. It's a good thing that the Xperia XZ1 Compact exists, then, and it's even better that it's currently discounted on Amazon to just $504.99. That's nearly $100 off on a still-new phone.The XZ1 Compact comes with all of the XZ1's great specs, but in a smaller package. The display is 720p, but it's still 319ppi with the 4.6" size. There are also a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage with microSD expansion, a 19MP 'Motion Eye' camera with 960fps slow-motion recording, an 8MP selfie-shooter, and a decently-sized 2700mAh battery. It also has front-facing speakers, IP68 water resistance, and Android Oreo on board. You'd be hard-pressed to find better specs in a smaller package.MSRP for this bad boy is $599.99, but Amazon is currently offering a $95 discount to $504.99. However, this discount is only available on the Black color, with the others still at $549.99. There's no indication of any stock limitations, and Prime shipping is present. Hit the source link below to grab the tiniest mainstream flagship today.Source: Amazon
Sony has been a surprisingly developer-friendly Android phone maker, with its Open Devices program giving anyone the opportunity to build and flash custom versions of the OS firmware on its devices. A few days ago Sony published the relevant binaries for the latest AOSP version of Android 8.0 Oreo for a number of its phones, and now it's added two newer Xperia models.
We're in the thick of the holiday phone season, what with Apple's 2017 lineup on the table, Samsung's Note 8 available, and the Pixel announcement next week. Not to be deterred by all of that, Sony has opened up pre-orders for its next phone, the Xperia XZ1 Compact.Sony already started shipping the regular XZ1 a few weeks ago, so this comes as no surprise. The smaller phone comes with Android 8.0 Oreo and sports a 4.6" HD LCD display, a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 19MP/8MP cameras, and a 2,700mAh battery. With the 720p screen, I think it's safe to assume that the XZ1 Compact's battery will last for a long time.Pre-orders via Amazon are expected to ship on October 4 with free shipping. For the slightly hefty price of $599, you can choose between the black, white, blue and pink models. Check out the source links below if you're interested.Source: Amazon (1), (2), (3), (4)