Sony were one of the first big names to incorporate Android TV into their television sets, across a lot of their range. As such there are a lot of them out there but unfortunately the updates for them have been very few and far between. Today that is set to change with an update beginning to roll out to some TVs.
Our Sony Android TVs have not seen an update since 2017 when they received the August 2017 security patch and languish on Android TV 7.0. The new update rolling out now will bring the software versions up to Android TV 8.0. The new update will not only bring the new version of Android TV but will include the following bug fixes:
- Improves general performance of the TV
- Prevents an issue where the TV picture becomes dim after the software update
- Improves the Home screen menu for better usability
- Improves the keyboard design
- Improves the Search function using Google Assistant™
- Resolves picture quality issues viewing Dolby Vision™ content on Netflix®
- Resolves a DTV 1080i flashing issue
- Resolves a condition where there is no sound at times when playing the UHD BD movie “Dunkirk”
- Resolves a condition where the TV switches from Standby to Semi Standby and switches on any AV Receiver connected via HDMI CEC
- Resolves a condition where the TV goes to 8X red LED blinking when starting to play games (HDR content) from the PS4™ Pro gaming console (XBR49X900E, XBR55X900E, XBR65X850E, XBR65X900E, XBR75X850E, XBR75X900E)
- Improves performance for Amazon Prime® video playback
- Resolves a condition where a short beeping sound is heard when changing channels
- Adds support for Dolby Vision content (XBR-65Z9D, XBR75Z9D, XBR-100Z9D, XBR-55A1E, XBR-65A1E, XBR-77A1E, XBR-55X930E, XBR-65X930E, and XBR-75X940E only)
- Adds support for the Amazon® Alexa™ app that runs on Amazon Echo™ devices
- Resolves an issue where optical digital sound sometimes stops
- Resolves an issue where the TV speakers and the sound from the PS4 controller are out of sync
- Resolves an issue where frame drops occur and the AV is out of sync when playing 4K HDR 60fps content
- Adds support for PIP (Picture-in-Picture) while using an app (watch TV in a small window while using an Android TV™ app)
- Adds support for Hybrid Log-Gamma HDR content via HDMI® and USB/Home network
- Improves the Settings screen to support changing settings while viewing TV (some exceptions may apply)
- Adds support for task-switching (switch between previously used apps and the current app by holding down the HOME button on your remote until the task-switching menu appears)
The Sony support website also has a link if you want to download the update and install it manually using a USB drive or you can do what most would and go into the settings of your TV, about TV and then check for system updates. We would suggest you do it OTA style as this way it includes all the localised products that Sony have installed on there including the catch up TV apps.
The TV’s expected to receive the update include:
- XBR-100Z9D
- XBR-43X800D
- XBR-49X700D
- XBR-49X800D
- XBR-55X700D
- XBR-65X750D
- XBR-65Z9D
- XBR-75Z9D
- XBR-43X800E
- XBR-49X800E
- XBR-49X900E
- XBR-55A1E
- XBR-55X800E
- XBR-55X806E
- XBR-55X900E
- XBR-55X930E
- XBR-65A1E
- XBR-65X850E
- XBR-65X900E
- XBR-65X930E
- XBR-75X850E
- XBR-75X900E
- XBR-75X940E
- XBR-77A1E
If your TV is on the list check for an update and continue to regularly check for updates as the new Android TV 8.0 will bring a host of UI improvements as well as improvements of how the software runs. Hopefully it fixes the lagginess of the remote control functionality of the TV that we at Ausdroid have all experienced.
