Sony surprised the world when it enrolled the Xperia Z3 into the Android Beta Program as far as Android 7.0 Nougat is concerned.
The Xperia X Performance also joined up with this 2014 flagship for the beta program, but it seems Sony was looking for a replacement in the program.
Sony Xperia Z3 received all the developer preview versions of the new Android 7.0 Nougat apart from the fifth and final version. This surprised many who were already into the program with the handset. Things got even worse when the Japanese tech giant came in with a list of the devices that are scheduled to be updated to the new Nougat dessert. Other than Sony Xperia Z3, the previous Xperia Z2 was also missing on this list – a list that featured the likes of Xperia Z5 series as well as this year’s Xperia X series.
Different reports have followed suit since the removal of Sony Xperia Z3 from the Xperia Beta Program for Android 7.0 Nougat. Fingers have been pointed at Qualcomm, the manufacturer of the Snapdragon 801 SoC that powers the Xperia Z3, for the incompatibility of the device with the new OS. In fact, a petition has been filed to try and force the American chipset maker to release Nougat drivers for the Snapdragon 801 as well as the Snapdragon 800 – chipsets that still power some of the best smartphones around.
The Xperia Z2 is also powered by a Snapdragon 801 processor, something that also means there is no official Android 7.0 Nougat for this handset. Nonetheless, the Android world is full of smart developers who work around the clock to see to it that such issues are well-taken care of. In short, you can still install Android 7.0 Nougat on your Sony Xperia Z2 or Xperia Z3 handset.
Be warned that this version of Android 7.0 Nougat is based on an AOSP custom ROM, which Sony has nothing to do with. So, proceed at your own risk, especially since this version cannot be guaranteed as your daily driver due to its unstable state. Of course, more works will be put into making it a stable version, but this should take some time. So, you can still opt to wait for updated versions of the software so that you can get the real taste of Android 7.0 Nougat on your aging Xperia Z2 and Z3 handsets.