For all the incredible work that Samsung has done distributing Android 11 goodies to a bunch of new and Old-fashioned smartphones around the world in recent weeks, the heavyweight champion of major software updates has not yet done the same for his best mid-rangers.
This makes Sony’s latest OS promotion very special, going to the Xperia 10 II mid-end as we speak in some Southeast Asian countries. While we obviously can’t compare the sizes of the mobile product portfolios of these two companies, it’s certainly impressive to see this 6-inch device launched in 2020 with Snapdragon 665 processing power following in the footsteps of the high-end Xperia 1, 5, 1 II, and 5 II so quickly.
Sure, Sony promised, almost two months ago, to start delivering these wireless treats to this device “from the end of January 2021”, but we have seen so many Android device vendors break this kind of promise so many times over the years that it is almost surprising when a company really moves on without any delay.
Similar to the other four Android 11 updates released for Xperia phones so far, the latest collection of UI tweaks, performance improvements and security enhancements are less than 1 GB. Which means Sony is keeping its proprietary optimizations to a minimum, pleasing so-called purists who for some reason are unhappy with any Pixel-branded hardware manufactured and sold directly by Google.
Speaking of sales, remember that last year The Xperia 10 II was never officially launched in the United States, unlike the 2019 original Xperia 10. That old 6-inch Snapdragon 630, by the way, is likely to be next in line for an Android 11 OTA update, although we have no idea yet when Sony will be able to deliver.
In the meantime, the The Xperia 10 III may well see the light of day sometime at the end of next month with Android 11, presumably running show out the box software, as well as the same old 6-inch extra-high screen in tow and three undoubtedly enhanced cameras placed on its back.