Sony Xperia XZ Premium To Start Getting Android 8.0 Oreo Update

Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium smartphone will start receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update today. This makes Sony the first company outside of Google to have access to the latest version of the Android OS. Pure Google devices like the Nexus and original Pixel phones are typically the first devices to receive these update. The XZ Premium getting to Oreo well before the New Year is a very big deal for a few reasons, but none bigger than the advanced features it opens up for the device to be capable of now.

One of the biggest features to arrive on the XZ Premium with Oreo is Sony’s 3D Creator. The 3D Creator allows users to scan an object, and then use that scan to create something unique. This includes AR stickers, and animations that can be overlayed into your environment via the camera app. You can also use your 3D scans with a 3D printer and create real world objects with them. This is a pretty spectacular feature to be available on a phone, and adds a whole new take to 3D object scanning. Apple made waves by introducing this with their iPhone X and mainly showcased their ‘Animojis’ as the main capability. Personally, I dig the way Sony showcases the true potential in having this tool available on your smartphone, even if their ad for it is a bit weird.

The XZ Premium will also gain a few more new camera tricks thanks in part to the new machine learning algorithms in Android 8.0 Oreo. The first of which is Autofocus Burst, and the other is called Predictive Capture. Autofocus Burst essentially allows you the ability to capture more vivid, less blurry photos when shooting a moving subject. Predictive Capture is a feature within the camera’s software that won’t take a photo until it detects your subject is smiling.

Sony has went on record as saying this will be a staged rollout, which basically means you won’t all get the update at once. Be patient though, and you should get the notice to update within the next week.