Sony Mobile is rolling out a small software update for the Xperia M4 Aqua, which keeps the handset on Android 5.0 Lollipop. The update moves the Xperia M4 Aqua to build number 26.1.A.2.167 and the Xperia M4 Aqua Dual to version 26.1.B.2.147.
Sony appears to have optimised the performance and importantly has removed some of the baked-in Google apps to free up some much needed internal storage (for the 8GB version at least). Some of the apps removed include Google+, Play Games, Play Books and Play Newsstand. The firmware links for each variant can be found below. If you have installed the update, let us know your thoughts below.
Update: Sony has now confirmed that it has removed apps to free up space. Here is the official changelog statement:
To free up memory for you we’ve removed some preinstalled applications and corresponding data: Books, CloudPrint, FaceLock, GoogleTTS, Keep, Newsstand, NewsWeather, PlayGames, PlusOne and talkback. However, they will remain if you have updated them at least once. Note that all apps, except FaceLock, can be downloaded again from the Google™ Play Store (where available).
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua FTF firmware files – Android 5.0 Lollipop (26.1.A.2.167)
Xperia M4 Aqua (E2303) 26.1.A.2.167 UK Generic
Xperia M4 Aqua (E2306) 26.1.A.2.167 Latin America Generic
Xperia M4 Aqua (E2353) 26.1.A.2.167 Philippines Generic
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua Dual FTF firmware files – Android 5.0 Lollipop (26.1.B.2.147)
Xperia M4 Aqua Dual (E2312) 26.1.B.2.147 Malaysia Generic
Xperia M4 Aqua Dual (E2333) 26.1.B.2.147 Nordic Generic
Xperia M4 Aqua Dual (E2363) 26.1.B.2.147 India Generic
Thanks Jozef, Saurabh and Sumedh!
