Sony refuses to implement an Oreo feature despite marketing it

Back in October last year, Sony released a video aimed at marketing the company’s Android 8.0 software experience. The video clearly showed the Oreo update will bring a new call/dialer screen, featuring the ability to accept calls by swiping up and decline calls by swiping down. Following is the video we’re referring to and the feature in question is shown at 00:26 sec.

As you may already know, the XZ Premium was the first Xperia device to receive the Andorid 8.0 Oreo update through an over-the-air roll out. But, soon after upgrading, users started complaining that the new, advertised swipe call gestures are missing.

After keeping mum for months, Sony has now officially given a word stating Xperia phones that launched with lower Android versions won’t receive the feature even after the Oreo update. The confirmation came from Emir (Official Sony Xperia Support Staff) while addressing the complainants on the company’s official support forum. Here’s what exactly they said

You might experience that the new incoming call screen that let’s you swipe up to answer a call, and swipe down to reject a call introduced in the XZ1-series, is missing in Xperia XZ Premium. Devices released with a lower Android version will not receive this feature, even if they are updated to Android 8.0 (Oreo)

Deciding against implementing a sought-after feature could well be a marketing strategy to make XZ Premium at-least look outdated. However, we fail to understand why a company as big as Sony mislead its users in the first place by promoting a feature that it didn’t intent to release.

Sad, but that’s how it stands currently. So if you were excited about seeing the new call screen on your Xperia XZ Premium (or other Xperia devices that have already got Oreo, or will be getting it in the future), that’s not happening officially. The only option you can try is to install the XZ1’s Dialler apk.

Call swipe gestures are turning out to be the latest software challenge Android device manufacturers are facing these days. Last month, OnePlus announced it will fix the way incoming calls are accepted/rejected on its phones. Read more about that here.

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