The update brings along a nice range of enhancements and new features

Dec 23, 2013 14:38 GMT  ·  By

Today, Sony Mobile has officially announced the availability of the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system upgrade for the owners of its Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, and Xperia ZR smartphones.

The platform upgrade has started to arrive on Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z Ultra earlier this month, and it is now available for other devices in Sony’s 2013 lineup as well.

According to the company, the update will deliver not only the features and enhancements that Android 4.3 was already known to come to the market with, but also a series of other improvements coming from Sony themselves.

“We’ve been working to blend our Sony Xperia software with Google’s Jelly Bean release to create some cool user experiences (if we say so ourselves),” the company notes in a blog post.

As part of the 4.3 Jelly Bean upgrade, users will enjoy better performance and UI optimizations, as well as an improved graphical experience, due to the well-known Project Butter.

At the same time, the update will provide Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, and Xperia ZR owners with Sony’s Smart Social Camera, which was launched on Xperia Z1 in September.

This is the company’s “signature camera experience, that lets you download, access and enjoy “Xperia camera apps” directly from within the viewfinder.”

Moreover, the new firmware version updates Sony’s entire native app portfolio to the latest versions of included apps. This includes tweaked / improved / current experiences for Messaging, MyXperia, Smart Connect, Small apps, TrackID, Sony Select, and more.

The update also includes Sony’s Media apps, namely WALKMAN, Album, and Movies, with Sony Entertainment Network cloud service integration.

This should deliver a more converged and full Sony entertainment experience to all users, due to Sony Entertainment Network & PlayMemories integration with a more intuitive UI.

Other enhancements in the new software include a unique custom interface experience called “Xperia Themes,” with downloadable UI packs, and the latest Android security enhancements, paired with Sony’s mobile enterprise solution: Xperia in Business.

Moreover, the Battery STAMINA Mode comes as an updated version of Sony’s power management app, which should provide users with increased battery life.