Running the latest version of Android before it’s officially released usually requires a Nexus device and the bravery to flash a developer preview image created by Google, but Sony is now offering an alternative. Devices in Sony’s Open Device program can now run a preview build of Android M, which was released on Nexus devices several weeks ago. It’s not suitable for daily use, but developers who need to test apps might be quite interested.
Sony’s Open Device program lets developers and enthusiasts run clean versions of Android from the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). This requires an unlocked bootloader, which allows you to flash unsigned software to a device. Just like HTC and Motorola, you can unlock the bootloader on most Sony Xperia devices, but doing so voids the warranty and makes it possible to brick the device by flashing the wrong thing. Caution is advisable, especially when you’re going to install a pre-release software image you built yourself, as is the case with the new Android M support.
Supported devices in the developer program include the Xperia Z3, Z3 Compact, Z2, Z2 Tablet, Z1, Z1 Compact, E3, M2, T2 Ultra, and T3. Sony is not posting a finished system image for Xperia devices like Google does for the Nexus line. The big news here is that it has provided the binaries for Android M, which are basically the driver packages that make the phone’s essential hardware work with the software. However, Sony hasn’t yet implemented support for the camera or cellular modem on Android M, so this certainly won’t be your daily driver.
Interested parties still need to build the Android M system image from AOSP before installing to a device. The value in having Android M running on Xperia hardware is to test apps and services ahead of Android M’s availability in several months. Android M will bring a variety of features (most of which aren’t in AOSP) like Google Now on Tap, better app standby modes, and a fingerprint reader API.
Because this is Android M from AOSP, it doesn’t have any of the closed source components you’re used to seeing in Android. There’s no Gmail, Play Store, or any other Google apps. You don’t even have the Play Services framework necessary to install those apps. Someone could probably port the Google Apps package to Xperia devices running Android M, but there’s no guarantee that will happen. The ROM demoed above also has plenty of ancient open source apps like Gallery, Messaging, and the Ice Cream Sandwich-era browser.
Sony has posted instructions on downloading and building the Android M preview from AOSP for Xperia devices, but it’s not for casual users. It should be a breeze for experienced software developers, though. I imagine that some finished ROMs will be posted on sites like XDA in the coming days so you can flash Android M to your bootloader unlocked Xperia phone.
