Some great news for A300 and ZX700 owners, the Android 13 OS update has finally dropped for the Walkman models.
Unfortunately LE Audio is not part of the update since the Bluetooth chipset was never certified for it (only up to version 5.0). The update should be rolling out to users now, but it may vary from region to region, so just wait for the update to hit your device. As always make your device is fully charged before updating.
The update also brings the security update for October 2023. Amazon does have some discounts right now, but not much in Canada it seems.
Amazon US - NW-A300 | NW-ZX700
Amazon Canada - NW-A300 | NW-ZX700
Amazon UK - NW-A300
Amazon DE - NW-A300
One one side, it's great to see the first ever major Android update for Walkmans, on the other side it clearly shows that there are still major problems (probably with the audio driver) that make the upgrades so hard as Android 13 is already more than one year old and Sony rolled out Android 14 for the first Xperia smartphones a month ago.
ReplyDeleteE_D___B_A_N_G_E_R
It is actually more complicated, yes.
DeleteThe Xperia Phones just use AOSP with Google Services and an custom launcher/very slight modifications. Its almost an stock Android.
So all Sony does is checking out the latest AOSP, check if their modifications still work and done.
With the Walkmans, Sony does actually modify the Sourcecode of AOSP which means, every time Google Updates it, they have to re-patch it which, i am pretty sure, is not an straight forward process.
They probably have to re-write chunks of their own code and/or manually implement their code with every big update again. Its not as much work as re-writing it, but it is tedious and slow. Given the smaller user group and that there are almost no changes from Android 12 to 13 which are relevant on an DAP combined with the smaller dev teams and there you go.
Espero que Sony también considere actualizar el Nw-Wm1am2
ReplyDeleteI doubt it, the issue might be the SoC, too old or not worth the effort for Sony.
DeleteThe only benefit I see with this update is that the device seems snappier when navigating and opening apps. Anybody noticed any other upgrades?
ReplyDeleteGreat news!! Getting an A306 to become a more portable companion to my WM1A and the new Android is a good prospect.
ReplyDeleteThe sound on my 707 was greatly improved, but still having issues with the Bluetooth disconnecting. still love my 707. fingers cross for the next big update.
ReplyDelete