Sony Sound Connect version 12.5 will require Android 11 or later to work

If you own an Android device that is not running Android 11 or higher, you may be able to upgarde in the future to the upcoming 12.5 version of Sound Connect. Thanks E_D___B_A_N_G_E_R for the info.

The about this app details reveal the new information. There is no indication when the 12.5 update will be released, but I have a feeling it will be sometime in January/Febraury, possible to conincide with the release of the WF-1000XM6.

This will affect any Sony's prevoous Android based MP3 players, like the NW-A100 amd NW-ZX500, as both are Android 9. 

Once version 12.5 is released, anyone trying to install the app on an unsupported device may need to find version 12.4.1 and sideload it. Any new features in 12.5 will not work on unsupported devices when used with future models like the WF-1000XM6.

I am not sure what prompted Sony to set the cut off at Android 11, perhaps user data, but Sony cutting off their own past Walkman models is kind of puzzling.

This raises the question, will Sony ever start cutting off support for older wireless headsets in the app? Here is the list of compatible devices, which is not even complete, as the last update is September 2024. We are missing the Linkbuds Open and Fit, the WF-C510, and WF-C710N. Some of the older models are on Qualcomm hardware, so perhaps these older models will the first to be removed from the app in the future.

Even if Sony does not remove the older models from the app, future app updates could break the app with older models not working correctly.