Sony’s Xperia line of smartphones are beautifully crafted and have many great features. But considering the fact that Sony has evolved into a media company over the last two decades, it’s their media-related apps that stand out the most.
Just recently, they’ve updated their software for Android Lollipop, and as quickly as they did that, developer Thomas DE SA got to work on porting the Xperia’s Album and Walkman (now called Music) apps to other Android devices. These apps can be installed even if you’re not rooted, and they feature Sony’s signature design, so if you’ve been looking for a new music player or photo viewer, you needn’t look any further.
Requirements
- Android device running KitKat or higher
- Unknown Sources enabled
Step 1: Download the Album & Music Apps
When you’re ready to get started, point your device’s web browser to this link to grab a copy of the APK installer file for Sony’s Album app. When that’s done, tap this link to download the Walkman (aka Music) app.
Step 2: Install Sony Album
To install the Album app, tap the corresponding “Download complete” notification in your status bar. From here, press “Install,” then tap “Open” when that’s finished.
Sony Album comes with a free cloud backup service to store all of your photos. If you’d like to use this feature, tap the “Sign Up” button, then create an account from the Sony website that comes up next.
Beyond that, Album has an intuitive interface that features a side navigation menu for accessing categories and a photo stream view that packs many thumbnails onto one screen.
Step 3: Install Sony Walkman
To install the Walkman app, tap the “Download complete” notification again, then press “Install” and “Open.”
From here, you’ll see your new music player’s beautiful interface. It features the same side navigation drawer as Album, and the colors on the now playing screen are automatically matched to the album artwork.
While the Movie app hasn’t been ported yet, you can still grab a copy of the older version from our previous guide. It won’t be as Lollipop-friendly as the Albums and Music apps above, but it’s better than nothing.
What are your favorite features of Sony’s new media apps? Let us know in the comment section below, or drop us a line on Android Hacks’ Facebook or Twitter, or Gadget Hacks’ Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.
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