Sony Xperia handsets, namely Xperia Z3 Plus, Z4, Z5, will start receiving the Android Marshmallow update.
According to Mobi Picker, the update will begin rolling out from March 7 onwards. Devices like the Xperia Z3 Plus, Xperia Z5 along with the Xperia Z4 tablet will be the first ones to receive this update. It was also reported that PTCRB, which is a certification authority, recently certified this new firmware for the Xperia Z3 Plus as well. The build number for this certified firmware update is 32.1.A.0.434.
In December 2015, the Xperia Z series devices like the Z4, Z5 along with the Z5 Premium found a mention in the PTCRB database, which pointed out at the time that this update will be rolled out for mid-range and low-range Sony Xperia devices like the Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact and Z2. Some of these devices will also be skipping the intermittent Android Lollipop 5.1.1 update.
The Android Marshmallow update will be rolled out for the other Sony devices within this year, and almost all of the Sony Xperia Z series devices will receive the Android M update.
However, Sony confirmed that it will not be updating the Xperia Z1 and the Xperia Z1 Compact devices, which were released back in 2013. The reason behind this is the low memory space on these devices.
The Android Marshmallow update is approximately sized at 900 MB, and will require a stable Wi-Fi connection to be downloaded without any interruptions. It will bring new features to the UI of the device, such as the vertical scrolling of the menu icons instead of the circular horizontal one, the addition of a doze off feature in the drop down menu, support for fingerprint scanner, support for USB Type C connector, additional security fixes, enhancement of the look and feel of the device, and extension of the battery life of the device, according to BGR.
On other news, Android Marshmallow update is also about to roll out for numerous Samsung Galaxy and Asus devices. The exact roadmap of the release dates is still awaited.
Watch this video to know more about the Sony devices that will receive Android M: