Android 11 is now rolling out to the OG Sony Xperia 1 and Xperia 5
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It sure looks like no company can even hope to come close to Samsung's towering Android 11 updating pace for both new and old smartphones, but with former software support champion HMD Global seemingly and inexplicably dropping the ball as far as its Nokia-branded handsets are concerned, Sony is decisively moving in on the industry's coveted silver medal.
After predictably kicking things off with an over-the-air OS promotion for 2020's state-of-the-art Xperia 1 II around a month ago, the Japan-based tech giant is surprisingly bringing the older first-gen Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 up to date as we speak rather than treating the Xperia 5 II to the same major UI makeover.
Commercially released in the spring and fall of 2019 respectively, the two Snapdragon 855 powerhouses are definitely still attractive enough to draw quite a bit of attention from Android enthusiasts who like fresh software, extra-tall screens, and versatile camera systems.
In case you're wondering, yes, both fresh Android 11 updates come with December 2020 security patches baked in, and they will likely both require quite a bit of free storage space and patience on your part. Have at them, boys and girls!
As you can imagine, both the OG Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 are frequently on sale at decent discounts nowadays, so even if you might need to wait a few more weeks (or at least days) for the official Android 11 rollout to reach certain markets (US included), it's probably not a bad idea to start hunting for the best deals out there.
Unfortunately, that killer recent Woot promotion bundling an unlocked Sony Xperia 1 with a pair of the company's incredibly well-reviewed WH-1000XM3 noise cancelling headphones at a massive combined discount, has already expired. On the bright side, Amazon is currently charging around 260 bucks less than usual for a solo 6.5-inch Xperia 1, while the 6.1-inch Xperia 5 is for some reason no longer available anywhere in the US at the time of this writing, either at its regular or a reduced price of some sort.
In case you're wondering, yes, both fresh Android 11 updates come with December 2020 security patches baked in, and they will likely both require quite a bit of free storage space and patience on your part. Have at them, boys and girls!
Things that are NOT allowed: