Flashtool is one of the most useful pieces of third-party software to help upgrade/downgrade or change regional firmware for Sony Xperia devices. Developer Androxyde has updated the utility to version 0.9.25.0 which adds support for 2018 Sony Xperia handsets, including the Xperia XZ2 and XA2 range.
A word of warning if you already have existing FTF firmware files though, they will not work in this latest version of Flashtool. You will need to recreate the FTF firmware file with version 0.9.25.0 of Flashtool. You can download the latest version of Flashtool here. [read more…]
The Xperia XZ2 is IP65 and IP68 dust and water resistant, as many flagships from Sony have been in the past. Sony has some pedigree in this area, being one of the first manufacturers to launch water resistant smartphones in the past. Youtuber Matthew Moniz put a number of current flagships to test to see how well they fared being dunked in water.
Moniz tested the iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, Huawei P20 Pro, LG G7 ThinQ against the Sony Xperia XZ2. Two of the phones are IP67 rated (iPhone X and Huawei P20 Pro), while the rest of the three are IP68 rated. [read more…]
Since the Xperia XZ1 was released in September 2017 we have seen a number of reports from people suffering with strange display-related issues, where lines and dots may emerge if the screen is touched/rubbed frequently. The lines do disappear after a while, but it can be distracting nonetheless to anything you are viewing on your display.
We first noticed the same effect on our resident Xperia XZ1 last year, and can pull up the same effect at will, by just lightly rubbing the screen. The issues have appeared on Sony Mobile’s official forums and XDA too, more recently, we are seeing similar reports plaguing the Xperia XZ2 range too. [read more…]
Okay this might not be the official definitive source, but Android Authority recently published a report on which Android manufacturer updates their phones the fastest. They have looked at which Android OEMs updated to Android Oreo the fastest (outside of Google’s Pixel devices).
For us Xperia fans, it’s great to see that Sony took first place – not that this should surprise anyone given how often we talk about Sony’s speed in updating its phones, particularly the flagship ones. Nokia (HMD) took second place, while OnePlus was third. It’s great to see how hard Sony works in providing timely updates, let’s hope they continue this good work going forward. [read more…]
The Xperia XZ2 Premium is Sony’s first smartphone with dual cameras. It’s also a technology powerhouse, with its high ISO sensitivity (51,200 for photos and 12,800 for video recording), newly designed 7-piece lens and an AUBE Instant Image Fusion processor.
Mobile01 managed to get hold of a pre-production unit and promptly took a bunch of pictures, the first to showcase what the phone is capable of across a range of scenarios – daylight, low light and macro. Check a sample of pictures below and let us know what you think. [read more…]
A few days ago we reported that Sony Mobile had ceased development of its Xperia Home launcher, with the app entering a maintenance phase and that the Beta community would soon close.
Now we don’t know why Sony couldn’t have mentioned this earlier, but the reason for stopping development on the current version of the Xperia Home launcher is because Sony is working on a new Xperia Home app. This was confirmed by Erika Prymus, one of the Xperia Home dev team. [read more…]
Sony Mobile Taiwan officially announced the Xperia XZ2 Premium at a press event earlier today. The dual-camera toting Xperia XZ2 Premium will see a selective launch globally, particularly focused on Asian markets – there is no word whether we will see the handset appear across Europe right now. In today’s conference, Sony confirmed that the handset will hit retail in late July 2018, with pricing details appearing closer to launch.
ePrice was at the launch event and managed to get hands-on with the Xperia XZ2 Premium, as well as comparing it with the Xperia XZ2. While both devices have what appear to be similar sized displays – 5.8-inch for the XZ2 Premium and 5.7-inch for the XZ2 – the different aspect ratios (16:9 for XZ2 Premium and 2:1 for XZ2) means that the XZ2 Premium is wider in the hand, despite the similar length. [read more…]
Google announced the Android Enterprise Recommended Program back in February, designed to highlight which Android devices are suitable for business. Devices added to the program must follow certain parameters, such as updating to the latest Android security patches within 90 days, and providing these updates for at least 3 years.
These devices also need to have at least one major operating system update. In addition, there are a number of hardware requirements, which you can read more about here. The advantage of being on this list is that it gives enterprise a Google-approved list of Android devices from which to deploy across their businesses. [read more…]
Sony is on a roll at the moment in terms of updating their handsets to the latest June 2018 security patches. Today, we are seeing an update to the Xperia X and X Compact, which moves the build number from 34.4.A.2.70 to 34.4.A.2.85.
The latest budget smartphone from Sony, the Xperia L2, has also seen an update roll with June 2018 security patches, moving the build number from 49.0.A.4.55 to 49.0.A.5.70. Let us know your impressions of either update in the comments below. [read more…]
Sony Mobile is likely to announce new Xperia hardware at the IFA 2018 tradeshow in Berlin, at the end of August. That’s not a surprise, as it has been that way for a number years. Well some pictures have been doing the rounds, purported to that of a prototype of the next Xperia flagship – the Xperia XZ3.
Now don’t go expecting a departure on the design front – the handset looks very similar to the Xperia XZ2, while the rear shows the use of a dual camera lens and sensors in a similar configuration to that of the Xperia XZ2 Premium. There’s no change to the placement of the fingerprint sensor either, and it may prove to be too far down for some. [read more…]
The next in Sony’s roster of Xperia smartphones to be updated to the latest 1 June 2018 Android security patches are the Xperia XZ, Xperia XZs and Xperia X Performance. This follows on from a similar for the Xperia XZ1 and XZ2 families in the last few days.
The new update moves the build number from 41.3.A.2.128 to version 41.3.A.2.149, and keeps the phone on Android 8.0.0 Oreo. If you have updated, please let us know what changes you’ve noticed. [read more…]
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