By Keerthi Chandrashekar / Keerthi@latinospost.com (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Nov 12, 2013 05:08 PM EST

The Sony Xperia Z1 is still a fresh release, but given the recent release of Android 4.4 KitKat and the aggressive update schedule rivals HTC and Samsung are pursuing, Sony has come out and confirmed that the flagship smartphone will be receiving Android 4.3 Jelly Bean in December.

"We're pleased to tell you that we'll start rolling Android 4.3 for Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia SP, Xperia Z Ultra and Xperia Z1 from next month*," Sony Mobile wrote on its official blog Nov. 7, one week after Google announced Android 4.4 KitKat.

No exact date was given, but look for Sony to try and have the Xperia Z1 updated to Android 4.3 Jelly Bean before Christmas hits in order to attract more holiday shoppers away from other Android handsets running Android 4.3. The asterisk in the quote above refers to the phased nature of Android update rollouts, meaning some regions will get it before others due to various technicalities, including carriers.

The Sony Xperia Z1 currently runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Sony's custom user interface layered on top.

Sony also confirmed that the Xperia Z1 would get Android 4.4 KitKat, although once again, the Japanese electronics giant failed to mention a specific timeframe. Expect a Q1 2014 rollout.

"We're also happy to tell you about the first raft of Xperia products that we'll make Android 4.4 Kit Kat available for - they are: Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia Z Ultra and Xperia Z1*," Sony Mobile wrote in the same blog post.

In other Xperia Z1 update news, the handset recently received a small update to its Social Live app, boosting the software version to 1.0.14.

Check back with Latinos Post for more information on Sony Xperia Z1 updates as it becomes available.

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