A firsthand update for the T-Mobile variant of the Sony Xperia Z1 is passing through the final certification stages before the eventual release date. The new build number is 14.4.B.0.56 and it brings improvements on the existing Android 4.4.4 Kitkat update that likely sees new bug fixes, slight performance enhancements and tweaks. We know that this is not going to be anything to do with Android 5.0 Lollipop as the first time they come is with the Google owned Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 tablet.
Nevertheless, we do know that the Sony Xperia Z series is all witnessing the Lollipop at some stages heading into the new year of 2015. That includes the Xperia Z1 according to reports. The Japanese phone maker didn’t provide an exact date.
Of course, this is just a notice about the certification and no official features are labelled until we see the change-log released by Sony themselves. Be on the lookout for a fresh OTA notification alerting you that the software is ready to download. It’s in your best interest to install it using a home WiFi system and not the mobile data to avoid additional mobile data chargers and data traffic from other users downloading the same system update as you.
We know that Android 4.4.2 carried many of the features after the initial phase of KitKat. The final two stages including 4.4.3 and 4.4.4 were much lighter and some manufacturers and phone carriers decided to deploy features of the later numbers inside the same 4.4.2 build to focus on patching security whilst forgetting about the small feature tweaks such as a revamped phone dialer that usually comes in the final phase. That’s why it’s become confusing and impossible to predict what we find toward the end of the chocolate software’s life.
Once the OTA is officially released and rolling out to devices you can tap on the notification and choose to ‘Download Now’ or bookmark it for later. If you choose later since you are away from the stable WiFi connection you should navigate to Settings > About Device > Software Updates and begin the installation that way.
The relief efforts are welcome by many who are experiencing plenty of bugs. Unfortunately some are calling it too little to late and the lack of timely updates has them searching for another phone. It’s disheartening that owners had to wait until we see the release of Android 5.0 before they see fixes to their existing lag issues from KitKat.
You should know that not all firmware certifications result in releases by the phone carriers. Therefore, we cannot 100% guarantee this will roll. However, once the PTCRB do give it the all clear we know that it is legally available for when the carrier network is ready.