Android 6.0 Marshmallow OTA Update Now Available For Sony Xperia Z5, Z5 Compact, Z5 Premium; Release Imminent For Z4, Z3+, Z3, Z2?

A person holds a Sonys new smartphone 'Z5' at the consumer electronics trade fair IFA in Berlin, September 2, 2015. REUTERS/AXEL SCHMIDT

Sony Mobile has released the Android 6.0 Marshmallow OTA update for the owners of Sony Xperia Z5, Xperia Z5 Compact and Xperia Z5 Premium in Japan. Rumors are rife that other Sony Xperia Z5 owners as well as other Xperia Z series smartphones are going to receive the Android 6.0 software upgrade soon.

According to Phone Arena, DoCoMo, the Japanese carrier has started releasing the Android 6.0 update for owners of Xperia Z5 series smartphones. Since Sony has begun rolling out Android 6.0 for Japanese users of Z5 series, it is likely that the software upgrade will be soon made available to users outside Japan very soon.

Sony Japan has also released several screenshots of the update. Sony Mobile U.K. had tweeted in the previous month that the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update will be available for Xperia Z5 lineup, Xperia Z4 Tablet, and Xperia Z3+ starting from March 7. The build number 32.1.A.0.434 of Android 6.0 update has been already certified for Sony Xperia Z3+.

In October last year, Sony had started its Xperia Beta Program exclusively for the owners of Sony Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact. The beta program allowed users to test Android 6.0 on their phones and send feedback to Sony. With 10,000 registered users, the beta program has met with a positive reception.

Recently, the Xperia Beta Program allowed Sony Xperia Z2 owners to try the new OS. The Android 6.0 beta is now available for users in countries like the U.K., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

Currently, there are several Sony Xperia Z series smartphones running on Android 5.0 Lollipop or 5.0.2 Lollipop. These devices will be directly provided receive the Android 6.0 Marshmallow by skipping Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. The other Sony devices that are officially confirmed to receive the latest Android build includes, Xperia Z3+, Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, Xperia Z2 Tablet, Xperia M5, Xperia M4 Aqua, Xperia C5 Ultra and Xperia C4.