Sony's new 3D Creator app won't be exclusive to the XZ1 and XZ1 Compact

But once you think about it, this app doesn't seem to rely on any particular hardware feature of the XZ1 duo, whose chipset and camera are identical to the ones in the Xperia XZ Premium. And while software exclusives are far from a rarity in the smartphone market, users are rarely happy when faced with one — recall how Google was pressured into releasing a firmware upgrade by owners of the Nexus 5X and 6P to enable Pixel-like fingerprint gestures.

So it only makes sense for Sony to release the 3D Creator to the XZ Premium — something the company has now publicly stated it intends to do:

So even if it comes at the cost of pretty much the only major unique feature of the XZ1 and XZ1 Compact, this should be great news to users of the XZ Premium, a handset which currently costs pretty much the same as the XZ1 (following a $100 price cut).

But given how dodgy Sony's track record has been so far, we wouldn't hold our breath for a speedy upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo — in fact, the company now has an incentive to delay it in order to keep the app exclusive to the newer XZ1. Mind you, we're not saying Sony would intentionally withhold an upgrade for such a silly reason, but we sure wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Eagle-eyed Sony fans may have already noticed an interesting omission from this article (as well as the company's official statement): the Xperia XZs. For those not in the know, this is the Xperia XZ variant equipped with the same MotionEye tech as the XZ Premium and the XZ1 duo. But unlike them, the XZs is equipped with last year's Snapdragon 820 chipset, so this might just be a simple case of the device lacking sufficient processing power.

via XperiaBlog