Sony recently started allowing developers and Android tinkerers in general to download a beta Ice Cream Sandwich ROM for the Xperia Play. Sony is specifically looking for feedback on how well the games on the Xperia Play run on the new operating system. Sony is taking all that data and using it to make the official ICS update for the Xperia Play as stable as possible.
The Xperia Play will begin receiving the ICS update at the end of May or early June. Depending on your carrier and where you live in the world, the update may be immediately available at that time. Others may have to wait a bit longer. The update also won’t come over-the-air. Due to the drastic changes ICS will make to Xperia phones, Sony is only letting users download the update via PC or Mac.
“Because this update is a significant revamp of some of your phone’s features, we want to make sure you take a conscious and informed decision to upgrade, so that you continue to enjoy optimum experiences from your Xperia smartphone,” Sony wrote in a blog post.
This basically means ICS could make your Xperia Play slightly unstable. Sony said that because Android 4.0 was designed for the Galaxy Nexus (a more powerful device than the Xperia Play), the Xperia Play has to work harder to accommodate the OS.
“We are actually proud to say that our Gingerbread software is very stable and has great performance, so it’s not a bad idea to stay on this release. Ice Cream Sandwich is more intensive, for example in terms of resource usage.”
It sounds like updating to ICS on 2011 Xperia smartphones is a gamble. Is it one you’re willing to make?
Source: Sony Mobile
Website Referenced: Pocket Gamer
