Screenshots of Android 4.3 for the Xperia ZL leak, update said to be happening this month

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Published 9 Dec 2013

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zl

Once upon a time, Sony was easily the worst offender when it came to smartphones updates. But these days, they’re often one of the best. Sure, they’re not Google and Motorola awesome, but they’re up there with Samsung and HTC. So with that now in the back of your mind, let’s rewind the clock back to January.

Sony announced two flagship phones, the Z and the ZL. Both came with a 5.0 inch display, both came with a Snapdragon S4, and both had 2 GB of RAM. The Z got all the love, but it was the ZL (pictured above) that was more impressive, at least in my opinion, because it had practically zero bezels. That design choice meant it couldn’t have same the shock-proof and water-proof features of the Z, but oh well, that’s a compromise I’m willing to make.

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Now last month, Sony issued a statement saying that both the Z and ZL would get updated to Android 4.3. Today, images of said update have leaked. Judging by the images posted on the fan site Xperia Blog, it looks like Sony’s old dark theme is out, and it’s going to be replaced by the same light theme seen in the company’s 6.44 inch flagship, the Z Ultra.

But what about Android 4.4? Again, last month Sony’s statement made it clear that both the Z and ZL would get 4.4, but no specific time frame was announced. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t out by the end of Q1.