Its been two days since I’ve upgraded the Sony Xperia Z2 from Android KitKat 4.4.4 to android Lollipop 5.0.2 and I have to say, I am pleased with the long awaited update.The lockscreen has changed and although some people find this change an annoying neusience I’m not apart of that party. With the new lockscreen you have to swipe the screen first before you can enter in your pin code and get to using your phone.
Some people have complained about this, adding that its just one more extra thing to do before signing in though your pin. Again if you double tap your screen you will still have to swipe and then enter in your pin code. This means you loose all but one second before you can sign in. However this is really a blessing in disguise. Since upgrading the firmware I have not once accidently opened the lockscreen in my pocket and been alerted by the sound of multiple key taps on the lockscreen, this used to be a daily occurrence!
The UI is sharper and more fluid with a spring in its step, the new look of Lollipop isn’t that much different from KitKat 4.4.4 the message, call, and all the app icons have all had a slight makeover and been made slightly bigger and sharper. There is another difference when you swipe down from the notifications menu, the menu will force itself to hang at the top of the screen before you pull it all the way down. This gives you a quick look at your notifications before accessing your settings.
You can also change the way your notifications show on your lockscreen by going into Settings-> Sound & Notifications-> When Device is locked. Here you can opt to ‘Show all notification content, or hide sensitive notification content, or to simply have no notifications show at all on your lockscreen.
Also in the top right corner you can change your phone for different ‘User Profiles’ with the ability to set up a guest user profile where they can download new apps which won’t appear on your main user account. I don’t think I will ever need to use this feature. It might be handy for someone that has kids?
All in all I am pleased with this update, aesthetically it looks better, drag the screen in a webpage or elseware and gone is the white/blue haze from the sides and corners, replaced by a curved light grey. So far it seems I’m getting even better battery life too, it has only been two days and I’m sure there will be more features to unearth. To check if your Sony Xperia Z2 is ready for its update, go into settings-> About Phone-> Software Update. I installed mine without the PC which meant downloading 600 odd MB and then extracting it to 12000MB for the full install. It took around 45mins before I could use my phone again. Make sure your phone is charged above 50% before you do update it.
As usual, many thanks for reading our blog and please do let us know if you have updated already and what you think about Android 5.0.2 on the Sony Xperia Z2? Have an awesome weekend guys!