Just as Sony can giveth, the company can taketh away and they’ve done just that with the Sony Xperia PLAY. Previously known as the PlayStation Phone, Sony had promised that their entire range of 2011 smartphones would be updated to the latest OS from Google. Now, Sony has confirmed that the Xperia PLAY will indeed miss Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and probably any further OS releases from Google. The news comes a bit late in the game as the gaming focused smartphone was inline to receive the update in just a few weeks, after months of internal testing. The reasoning however seems less sinister and more to do with the toll that ICS puts on hardware. After the jump, Sony lays out their reasoning.

One thing that’s certain is the amount of resource ICS requires versus previous OS releases from the guys at Mountain View. With devices created in 2011 not designed with ICS in mind, which needs more resources for everyday tasks, Sony felt it be best to leave the Xperia PLAY out of OS upgrade. On the Sony blog, the company went on to say that after much internal testing:

 “a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich… in this instance the ICS upgrade would have compromised stability.” 

In this case, it really seems that, unlike previous efforts from Sony which had them late to the game, the company did indeed try their best at bringing to the OS to the Xperia PLAY and has only canceled the update to maintain the best over all experience for owners. Apple famously has a stiff cut off cycle for their handhelds and computers in order to ensure the most optimal user experience by sacrificing older devices and not allowing them to move forward with the latest OS release. This ensures a good over all experience for older devices which won’t be bogged down with an OS that they cannot handle while new devices don’t have to be tied to outdated code and requirements.

Of course, it really remains to be seen how many users this truly effects as the Xperia PLAY has never been a hit device for Sony Mobile.

Discuss:

Is it really a big deal that Sony did not allow the Xperia PLAY to update to Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich?