Sony Xperia XZ3, Xperia XZ2 Added to Sony’s Open Devices Program, Users Can Now Unlock Bootloader

Sony officially added two new smartphones Xperia XZ2 and Xperia XZ3 to the ever-growing list of the company's Open Source Program. Users will now be able to unlock their devices' bootloader to play with custom ROMs.

Amit Dua

Published On: Nov 21, 2018 | Last Updated: Nov 21, 2018

Sony might have reduced the frequency of new smartphones but the brand, for sure, has not stopped contributing to the open source platform. The smartphone maker recently added two new devices— the Xperia XZ3 and Xperia XZ2— to its popular Open Devices Program. Users of both these phones can now unlock their Bootloaders to play with the custom ROMs. Earlier this year, the brand also added Xperia XA2 and Xperia XA2 Ultra to the ever growing list. Thanks to the Open Source Platform, Sony is one of the popular contributors to the open source community.

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Sony Xperia XZ3, Xperia XZ2 users can now unlock the bootloader

With the addition of the popular Xperia XZ3 and Xperia XZ2 to the Open Device Program, users will now be able to unlock their smartphone’s bootloader. All the devices which fall under the program get the vanilla Android Open Source Project (AOSP) device configurations. You can find those configurations on GitHub. This means that developers can use and contribute to the software. According to Sony, this is the company’s way of giving back to the open source community. By unlocking Bootloader, users will be able to flash custom ROMs. Do note that this voids the warranty of your device. If you are alright with that, just head on over to the Sony’s developers website to unlock the bootloader. It is worth noting that your smartphone should be on the supported device list.

Sony is also offering various guides which can help you kickstart open source development. There are AOSP build, Kernel compilation and Access UART port guides available on the website. If you’re a developer and largely work on your own software, then you can get access to custom tools to test your software on Sony devices. Although, there are tons of Sony smartphones which still haven’t made its way to the list, we expect more Sony handsets to hit the list soon.

Sony Xperia XZ3, Xperia XZ2 Specifications, Features

The Xperia XZ3 features a 6-inch P-OLED display with an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 1440 x 2880 pixels. The display is HDR BT.2020 compliant and has 537 ppi density with an added Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. There is a single 19MP camera module on the back and a single 13MP selfie shooter on the front. All of this runs on the 3300mAh battery packed inside and the latest version of Android i.e. Android 9 Pie. In addition, the device is IP68 water and dust resistance. Other specifications include Bluetooth 5.1 with aptX HD, USB Type 3.1, Fast Charging and Wireless Charging.

The Xperia XZ2 comes with a relatively smaller 5.7-inch IPS LCD display having an aspect ratio of 18:9 and a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. Like the Xperia XZ3, the device is HDR compliant and has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. It is also powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset coupled with 4/6GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard memory. There is a 19MP camera sensor on the back and a 5MP selfie camera on the front. Sony Xperia XZ2 runs on the Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box but is upgradable to Android 9 Pie. All of this is fueled by a 3180mAh battery packed inside. Other specifications include Fast and Wireless charging support, Bluetooth 5.1, IP68 rated dust and water protection.