Sony is showing some serious commitment to its mobile division, explicitly saying that they’re here to stay. While its plans for the future flagship is still unclear as there haven’t been as many leaks as in some other cases, we expect a few smartphones of the company for the second half of the year. Still, the recent phones of the company offer an overall good experience, as they combine a good design and a solid build quality, even offering certifications that make them water resistant, with one of the lightest skins on top of Android.
While Sony has not been very fast in terms of updating to the latest versions of the operating system, a lot of devices have been updated to Lollipop, including some that were released over 2 years ago. Now, recent reports have stated that Sony is experimenting with what could become a new skin on top of Android. It’s based on the most recent update of the OS, Android 5.1.1 and it’s being tested in Sweden, where they let 500 users to register and get the new version. Some screenshots were shown by the company as to what to expect from this new UI, but now, more images have surfaced showing how more aspects look.
The new concept of the UI looks even more like the stock version of Android, the clock on the lock screen has changed, the app drawer button is now white, although the app drawer itself is still transparent and the folders are also still transparent squares showing mini icons of the apps contained in them. The volume controls include more iconography and the Quick Settings menu also looks like the one in stock Android, even some features like the Stamina mode have disappeared, although the company may include them in future updates. The shades of the notification bar and the one on the navigation buttons seems darker than the one in stock Android.
The iconography in the Settings menu seems more colorful and more in line with the newer design language, but those are expected to change with the current build on top of Android 5.1. Some other icons like the ones that appear on the bottom ,while configuring the home screens seem a little inconsistent. Some Sony apps are still part of the new experience, including Album, Music, Camera, Xperia Lounge, What’s New and Xperia Care, all of which are meant to enhance the experience.
