Yesterday, the latest and greatest version of Android was officially released, Android 7.0 Nougat. The new Android version brings a number of notable changes. Now, Sony has announced which of their devices will be receiving the update to Nougat. As expected, the Xperia Z5 series will get Nougat. This includes the Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact, and Xperia Z5 Premium. The Xperia X series, including the Xperia X, Xperia XA, Xperia X Ultra and Xperia X Performance, are also in line to receive the update, as well as the Xperia Z3+ and Xperia Z4 Tablet. If you are using a Sony device not listed here, you may be out of luck as far as an official update goes, although there will likely be Nougat-based ROMs developed by non-official sources for older devices if you are comfortable with making some advanced modifications.
Starting off the list of features users can expect after the update is Doze, the battery optimization feature introduced in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which has been improved to provide even better battery performance. A new feature called Bundled Notifications groups notifications from the same apps together, and Direct Reply gives users the opportunity to reply to a message directly from the notification without the need to open the corresponding app. Updates will now be downloaded in the background, and the files will be copied to the appropriate destinations while the phone is powered on to save time during the installation process after rebooting. One of the most useful new features is multi-window support. While this has been available on devices such as the most recent entries to the Galaxy S line for some time, it will actually be built into Android going forward, providing a more consistent experience across devices. Quick Settings tiles will be customizable, and the settings menus will be improved, including shortcuts to suggested settings menus. Nougat also supports VR capabilities, and Vulkan API brings high-performance 3D graphics.
Although Nougat has been confirmed for the aforementioned devices, Sony has not released a timetable of when each device will receive the upgrade. Typically, with Android upgrades, priority goes to the newer devices first, and the date of the rollout may vary depending on your carrier. But the good news is that if you have one of the devices listed above, it is only a matter of time before you will be able to take advantage of these great improvements.