We were pretty surprised at Sony Ericsson’s bold statement yesterday that confirmed Android Ice Cream Sandwich coming as an update for all 2011 Xperia smartphones, and it looks like we were right to be doubtful.
Sony Ericsson confirmed yesterday that the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, would be available as a software update to owners of smartphones such as the Xperia Play, Xperia Arc and Xperia Mini.
However, the company has now issued a further statement which makes the certainty of the ICS update questionable. And there we were, thinking Sony Ericsson had sorted themselves out regarding software updates..
The statement from Sony Ericsson reads: “When it comes to future platforms of the Android OS, we will make them available to consumers in a timely manner, as long as they improve the user experience and are viable from a hardware point of view.”
The possibility of an Android 4.0 update has gone from ‘certain’ to ‘maybe, if we can make it work’, it seems.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) is expected to launch in October or November according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt. It will usher in a new generation of Android, combining both tablet and smartphone functionality into one piece of software.
The current range of Xperia smartphones runs on Android Gingerbread, version 2.3, with a Sony Ericsson-designed interface on top. Sony Ericsson also recently announced that all 2011 Xperia smartphones will be receiving a software update to 2.3.4, bringing more features such as 3D sweep panorama mode for the camera app and a Swype-style keyboard.