It brings UI changes, performance improvements, updated applications

Aug 8, 2014 22:03 GMT  ·  By

Today, Japanese mobile phone maker Sony Mobile has officially announced the availability of the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system for the owners of Sony Xperia E1 and Xperia E1 Dual devices out there.

Over the past few months, the handset vendor has made the platform upgrade available for many Xperia devices in its lineup, and it seems that it has finally managed to deliver it to the cheapest phones in its most recent lineup.

In a post on its official blog, the company has announced that Android 4.4 KitKat is already rolling out to Xperia E1 and Xperia E1 Dual devices, though it has not offered further details on the update’s availability on a market by market basis (though it does say that it will all depend on country and carrier).

Even so, we can assume that it has kicked off the rollout globally, but that it will be a phased deployment, and that some users will have to wait a few days or even more than a week before receiving it.

All of the features and enhancements that the update has brought to other Xperia handsets out there are available for Xperia E1 and Xperia E1 Dual phones too, including the various UI changes and performance improvements that the Android 4.4 KitKat has been announced with.

On top of that, Sony has added its own series of tweaks and new features in the update, including a series of changes to the Status Bar and Quick Settings, which are now more customizable than before and also offer a cleaner experience.

The user interface of these two smartphones has been brought in line with that of PlayStation 4, which includes a sleek launch animation paired with live wallpaper across the lock and home screens.

Following the update, users will be able to move applications from the internal memory to the SD card, which should prove highly useful on these two devices, as they don’t offer that much storage space.

Android 4.4 KitKat will also provide users with a series of updated applications, including Messaging, Smart Connect, TrackID, Sony Select, and Battery STAMINA Mode, as well as Sony’s Media apps, such as WALKMAN, Album and Movies.

On top of that, the OS upgrade will provide users with access to Xperia Themes, the custom interface experience that has already attracted millions of users out there. It offers downloadable UI packs from Sony Select, enabling Xperia owners to skin up to 280 assets on their smartphones.

Soon, owners of Xperia M2 and Xperia M2 Dual devices will receive the upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat Sony has revealed. However, no specific info on when that should happen has been provided as of now.