Sony rolls out Android 5.0 Lollipop, Xperia Z3 family getting it first

While other Android makers have long begun to roll out Android 5.0 software updates, Sony is only now starting to make the first Lollipop incarnation available to its customers. The priority is the Xperia Z3 family, which includes Sony's current flagship smartphone.

Sony has decided that Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact should be its first smartphones to get Android 5.0 Lollipop. The roll-out starts today, in Baltic and Nordic Europe. Here's what's new.

Sony says that, "after blending Google's first Lollipop release with [its] software", users can expect to see a fresh design, that is based on the Material Design language but still feels unmistakably Sony. So, basically, it's not going all-in with Material Design, just like other vendors.

The change in design also impacts notifications and the lockscreen, which now feature fully-customizable settings; Google tackled these areas when designing Android 5.0 Lollipop, so Sony can't take all the credit for the refresh.

What is interesting is that Sony is announcing support for multiple user profiles and guest mode in its Android 5.0 Lollipop interpretation, without saying whether the two features are limited to tablets -- as the stock version of Android 5.0 Lollipop works. If they're available on smartphones as well, some users will surely welcome this.

Sony also added support for Android for Work, which should make its Android 5.0 Lollipop-running Xperia devices more BYOD-friendly and attractive to business customers and users.

Last but not least there are improvements to storage control and customization. Sony now lets users move apps from internal storage to microSD cards. Considering that apps and games are only growing in size, this change will be welcome by those rocking devices with small internal storage.

The Android 5.0 Lollipop roll-out is set to include other regions and more Xperia Z devices, starting in roughly two weeks from now. Sony has revealed that only its Xperia Z devices will receive a software upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop; if you're rocking something else, you'll be left running older software for good.

I should point out that while Google is now busy rolling out Android 5.1 to its Nexus devices, Sony has barely started to make the first Lollipop incarnation available to its customers. It seems that, at least in Sony's case, software updates remain a major pain point.