When Sony began rolling Android 4.3 updates out to devices like the Xperia Z, Xperia Z1 and Xperia SP last year, it teased that the devices would be receiving a new Xperia Themes feature that it would explain further at a later date. Fast-forward to today and that's precisely what Sony has done in a post on its official blog.
Xperia Themes allows users to customize the software on their Xperia smartphone to suit their personality. Sony says that the feature allows users to skin up to 280 assets of the user interface, including the navigation bar, icons and checkboxes. The company explains that while this functionality can also be achieved by installing third-party launchers, Xperia Themes makes customizing a device's UI much simpler.
There are currently over 20 different Xperia themes for users to choose from, and Sony intends to continue to add more themes through its Sony Select app and the Google Play store. The firm is also planning to increase the number of elements and apps that can be skinned using Xperia Themes. Xperia Themes is available to Xperia smartphones running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or higher.
Device customization is a big part of Android and one of the main reasons that many people use Google's mobile operating system. While the ability to personalize a handset has been around nearly as long as Android has been available to the public, the process of actually tweaking a device can sometimes be a bit complicated or time-consuming. Sony is hoping to make device customization easier with its Xperia Themes feature, and while the more hardcore Android folk will likely continue to root and ROM their hardware to get them just so, the more novice (or lazy) among us can use Xperia Themes as a quick way to change the look and feel of compatible Xperia products.
