Sony cans Jelly Bean for last year's Xperia Arc S and others

By Nick Hide on 27 July 2012, 12:53pm

Bad news if you bought a Sony Ericsson Xperia phone last year, I'm afraid -- the most powerful of the 2011 crop, the Xperia Arc S, will not be upgraded to the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software, Sony has confirmed.

"Unfortunately Arc S won't be getting the Jelly Bean update," Sony product manager John Cooper posted on Sony's Facebook page, "but we're always developing new phones and making sure they get the latest updates."

So the message from Sony seems to be: bad luck, buy a new phone. Cooper also specifically mentioned the 11-month-old Xperia Mini Pro as not getting Jelly Bean, and as the Xperia blog points out, it's fair to assume none of last year's phones will be updated if the top of the range model is missing out.

"ICS should now be approved for all Xperia S handsets," Cooper told another user. "We currently don't have anything to announce regarding Jelly Bean for the Xperia S."

The Xperia S is this year's flagship phone from the company, and I would expect it to be boosted up to Jelly Bean at some point, along with at least some of this year's less powerful blowers, such as the Xperia U and Xperia P. Cheaper phones such as the Miro and Tipo are less likely to make the jump.

So what are you missing? Not a huge amount this time round. The jump from 2.3 Gingerbread to 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was a lot more important, with tonnes of features and app enhancements. The hop to 4.1 is more of an experience upgrade, with menus and animations much smoother and more graceful, but little in the way of cool new features.

Still, it's disappointing that a phone that came out in October is effectively out of date. It's still widely available, and not for nothing -- it's about £200. I can understand Sony not being terribly bothered about supporting phones with the outdated Sony Ericsson name, but it's hardly a good way to carry over what little brand loyalty Son Eric might have still had.

Have you been hoping for a little Jelly Bean action on your Xperia? Do you think phone makers should keep supporting older phones or focus on making the new ones even better? Upload your cranial impulses to the comments section below, or our always up to date Facebook page.

Comments 15

Add your comment

anonymous 27 July, 2012 13:00

Unofficial Ports are already underway, and recent reports suggest, the phone runs ultra super smooth/fast with it, If you want official updates get a Google branded phone, everything else, and I mean Everything else is useless.

anonymous 27 July, 2012 13:13

I've got an Xperia Arc S, my last 4 phones have been Sony Eriksson's so I have been a loyal customer for many years. However after paying so much for a phone only 6 months ago that Sony has chosen to ignore updating with jelly bean, I feel let down by them I'll probably think twice about buying a Sony phone next time.

Jamie Edwards 27 July, 2012 14:14

My Xperia Arc S has probably been my favorite phone I've owned and Sony have impressed my thus far with the support given. Though this is a bit of a pain knowing that I can't get Jelly Bean. I'm curious why they wouldn't continue support considering Jelly Bean is supposed to decrease CPU and memory usage, which got a serious hike in ICS, to me updating sounds like it could only improve the phone rather than bloating it.

anonymous 27 July, 2012 14:33

What about Sony Ericsson Xperia neo v? Is 4.1 version can support to upgrade otherwise which version is their to upgrade???...

anonymous 27 July, 2012 14:43

OS is the heart of any phone, but one has to accept the fact that Google has been playing it tough with system requirements, while not producing enhancements which are close to the finished product. All handset manufacturers have to make major modifications to suit their needs and fit into their system. As a result, starting from ICS, low-end phones have been suffering a lot. Android is still open source, but looking by the direction Google is taking, maybe it won't remain like that for long. Google is not a software development company, and they are seriously not doing a great job with Android. People still buy Android for maps, search and web-based applications that Google are experts in. Also, the developer community puts in a lot of effort to build apps which work. But, as an OS, it is the linux backbone which still makes it so compatible and easy to write programmes for. Sony's decision to launch/not launch Jelly Bean for 2011 models should be respected, as they are doing a damn good job to bring out great software compared to the likes of Samsung and HTC. But Sony should keep enhancing OS and fixing bugs in the older models. If they aren't doing that, then no one should buy Sony phones.

anonymous 27 July, 2012 15:05

This upgrade was expected on a 6 month old , extremly priced phone and was the reason of choosing Sony over Samsung.
Now it feels cheated.

Phones should be upgraded atleast for warranty period and then it can be treated as outdated.

anonymous 27 July, 2012 19:53

I've got the Arc S and wasn't really expecting to get Jelly Bean. I don't really mind either, as long as I stay on ICS I think i'll manage.
Still, it's just another example of how quickly phones and other products become dated whenever a company says.

anonymous 27 July, 2012 22:23

My phone works fine & does the job with gingerbread so whats the problem.

anonymous 29 July, 2012 13:26

Experia arc s.
I upgraded to android 4 and since have had nothing but trouble, The speed of the phones response to button pressing has at least halved, And many if not most of the apps now hang..
Even the phone book function hangs for an incredible 5-10 seconds before doing anything,
I have been hoping for another update to correct this but im now assuming his will not happen.
Personally, as a company director and an electronics engineer, I could never buy another sony phone due their lack of customer service. Previously, I was considering rolling these phones out to my team of engineers !, but after my experience with this arc s, I cannot even consider it.
Well done Sony... Another good customer lost.
My only question now is, are the competiton any better than this or do we have to wait for the software technology to catch up with the hardware ?

anonymous 30 July, 2012 02:12

Ugh that's annoying. ICS is so slow on my Xperia Arc S, it freezes all the time :/ I guess that won't be fixed? Crazy.

anonymous 31 July, 2012 03:24

if they don't update to 4.1 I will never buy a sony phone ever. Its not worth it. =(

Rhener Furtado 24 August, 2012 02:42

It is not the same information they show on the Sony Blog ( http://goo.gl/QhpNd ) post on 31th of July ( 4 days after that! )
they say :
Hello everyone,
A quick note – during a Q&A session last week on our Sony Mobile GB Facebook page, a local spokesperson gave information out in error on our Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software development and rollout for 2011 Xperia smartphones.
We are actively investigating Android OS upgrades for all devices, but in the meantime, our Ice Cream Sandwich rollout for Xperia S and 2011 Xperia smartphones continues as planned.
As always, feel free to drop a question below and keep your eyes fixed on the blog, as we’ll be bringing you more on our Ice Cream Sandwich rollout for Xperia P and other 2012 Xperia smartphones over the next couple of weeks.
Ant.