Sony's infographic shows that the journey of an Android software update is not for the weak

As folks who cover all things Android on a daily basis, you can understand why our feathers might get ruffled if a company takes its sweet time rolling out Android software updates to its devices. Surprisingly enough, Sony has been better than most when it comes to updates, with the company recently detailing the journey those updates take before getting to your device.

In short, Sony’s Android update process is broken up into two phases. The first phase involves receiving a Platform Development Kit (PDK) from Google, getting the software onto Sony’s system, and getting the different chips to play nice with the new software.

The first phase also involves getting phone functionalities, like phone calls, messaging, Internet connectivity, and the Sony-specific additions working well. Sony then gives this version of Android to folks in the company to test out, and once testing is completed, we get to phase two.

The second phase is all about certification and approval, with Sony needing to meet standards like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Sony also needs to make operator partners happy, since they might require specific versions of Sony’s software and will test these specific versions before giving approval.

Once all of this is checked off, Sony pushes the update to supported devices, with the company monitoring support forums and social media for user feedback.

To be clear, this is not the first time a manufacturer has explained what its Android software update process looks like. Even so, it’s always nice to get a clearer image about what happens behind the scenes, if nothing else, for the sake of being transparent.

You can check out Sony’s infographic below, and let us know in the comments what your thoughts are on the process and Sony’s decision to have this infographic published.