The Sony Xperia 1 II is due to hit many more regions across Europe and Asia from next week. If you're interested in finding out some of the design decision behind the device then it's worth checking out a comprehensive interview with the development team conducted by Engadget Japan.
The Xperia 1 II, Sony's 2020 flagship seems to be selling very well – at least in Europe. Sony was offering the device on pre-order in Europe, which was bundled with a free pair of Sony WH-1000XM3 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones across a number of retailers and carriers.
The good news is that Niantic is looking to expand the remote play feature of the game and has since announced that in an upcoming update to the game, they will be introducing remote raiding.
According to Niantic, “When this feature is available, you’ll see a + button in both public and private raid lobbies that you’ve joined in person. After tapping the + button, you’ll be able to invite up to five friends to join you. Your friends will be able to see raid invitations on their Nearby screen or in push notifications. These invitations will allow them to enter the raid lobby. Your friends will use a pass only once the battle starts, not when they join the lobby.”
![Who plans to order a Sony Xperia 1 II (Mark 2)? [Poll]](/images/2020/06/14790976425ede83d4252bd0.31000795.jpg)
There is a lot of excitement for Sony's latest flagship device, the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2). Initial buzz for the device is strong, particularly for its camera capabilities. Even outside that though, the Xperia 1 II looks to be a solid all-rounder, ticking the box of many spec-sheet wishlists including 5G, wireless charging, headphone jack, good battery life, water resistance, great 4K OLED display and more.
We have only seen Sony's Xperia 10 II (Mark 2) super mid-ranger launch in a few regions so far, but if you're one of those waiting for the handset, you might want to check out this disassembly video to appreciate how well made the device is.
Sony Mobile used to operate its own eShop that offered its full range of smartphones, tablets and accessories to customers in Europe. That store closed earlier in the year, when Sony started to fold all of its ‘Sony Mobile' assets back to the ‘Sony' parent company. Well, fast forward a few months, and Sony once again has an ecommerce presence in Europe, sort of.
Sony has a new feature in its ‘Game Enhancer' app called H.S. Power Control which will be a godsend to those who want to maximise the gaming performance on the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2). In a nutshell, this new feature prevents the battery in the phone from charging whilst a charger is plugged in.
Sony is rolling a new firmware update for the Xperia XA2 range (XA2, XA2 Plus and XA2 Ultra) – the first firmware update that the handsets have seen in over five months. The new update moves the build number from 50.2.A.3.22 to version 50.2.A.3.55, adding the 1 April 2020 Google Android security updates. This is a minor update, with no other tangible improvements reported.
Sony fans are eagerly awaiting the launch date for its latest flagship, the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2). Sony has been vague about the release date ever since it was announced – the official launch date is ‘late Spring'. We understand that a late May/early June has always been in the offing, which is why we were surprised when Japanese carrier NTT docomo flagged an April release date for Sony's flagship.
Sony Mobile had been using a consistent form of model numbering for its Xperia smartphones since 2013. This involved a series of five characters – one letter followed by 4 numbers. For example, the 2019 Xperia 1 had model numbers J8110, J8170, J9110, while the 2013 Xperia Z had model numbers including C6602, C6603, C6606.
Sony is rolling new firmware updates which add the 1 April 2020 Google Android security patches to a variety of devices. The Xperia 1 and Xperia 5 flagships get new build number 55.1.A.3.149, while the Xperia XZ2, XZ2 Compact, XZ2 Premium and XZ3 get build number 52.1.A.0.672.
It has already been four years since virtual reality hit the market. Back then, it was supposedly going to be the next big thing. Unfortunately, though, it looks as though a lot of early predictions about the technology were wrong. VR options like the Oculus Rift are still too pricey for a vast proportion of end users, and people are still to be convinced that the platform will be revolutionary. However, the introduction of 5G networks across Japan could help VR to break into the mainstream and start making waves. 
Japanese operator NTT docomo has announced that Sony's latest handsets, the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2) and Xperia 10 II (Mark 2) will both land on the network. The interesting news from a western perspective is that docomo has confirmed that the Xperia 1 II flagship will be launching in Japan in late April – this is earlier than expected, and would be great news if it had a similar launch window in Europe and North America.
Sony is updating its two current flagships with a new firmware update that adds the 1 March 2020 Android security patches. The Sony Xperia 1 moves from build number 55.1.A.3.49 to version 55.1.A.3.107.