Sony have previously announced support for the Android Open Source Project on recent Xperia devices like the Z3, pictured above, but some of the lesser known handsets also released this year missed out. Well, Sony has now corrected this, announcing via the Sony Developer World blog that they’ve rounded out the suite, with every Qualcomm-based device released in 2014 now supported on AOSP.
What does this mean? You can (if you are so inclined) build AOSP for your Sony Android device, and depending on your preference, go for a vanilla KitKat install, or a vanilla Lollipop install too. The instructions are fairly simple, though the process is fairly involved. Basically, if this appeals to you, you’re best heading to the Sony Developer World page, and following the instructions there.
There are some important restrictions though; because it’s still early days for AOSP development on Xperia devices, you need to be aware that the camera isn’t functional at this time, and nor can you make phone calls. Really, this is an announcement for hard core developers only, but it still is important for end-users to know too — Sony is one of the most open makers of Android, and giving developers early access to bleeding edge Android on their devices only improves everyone’s experience down the line. Sony puts a fair bit into the AOSP community, and also gets a fair bit back from it, so we all win.
That is good thing
At least it should mean that some awesome custom roms will eventuate for these devices. Happy about that.
Darn. I’d love stock Lollipop running on my Z2 – fully functional. Hopefully those last glitches are fixed and we can get a “Play Edition” Z2 working 🙂