[rlw6534]

I would have also preferred this to use a newer Android version, but it takes a lot of work to upgrade to newer versions, especially when the OS is heavily customized by the manufacturer. My uneducated guess is A&K started work on the P1 when Android 12 was either new or well understood, or maybe the organization behind Android charges a licensing fee and the older versions are cheaper to buy licenses for?

Android 12 is fine for a few years. I think the main barrier to upgrades is SOC support, the DAP manufacturers don't build from scratch, they get a working system from the chip manufacturer and then customize for their specific audio hardware.

 

[nioh]

Chinese and Korean hifi brands should learn from Sony. They upgraded Android from 12 to 13 within months and working on Android 14 at the moment which will be rolled out soon.

For those saying 12 is fine, 13 makes no difference, you haven’t used a proper DAP with 13. The experience on Android 13 on the Zx707 is much superior to older version.

 

[Skev]

I like how the bottom buttons are distanced from the bottom of the player, it reminds me of the Zune HD.

Yeah it makes it a lot easier to use, no thumb contortions required

 

[rlw6534]

Chinese and Korean hifi brands should learn from Sony. They upgraded Android from 12 to 13 within months and working on Android 14 at the moment which will be rolled out soon.

For those saying 12 is fine, 13 makes no difference, you haven’t used a proper DAP with 13. The experience on Android 13 on the Zx707 is much superior to older version.

Sony is certainly the exception in the DAP world. They even send out security updates. A&K has never upgraded the Android version on any of their DAPs and I wouldn't expect that to change. But I would love to see it, especially on the Android 5 and 6 devices which can't run current versions of several streaming apps, including Amazon Music and Tidal, etc.

 

[Vamp898]

Sony is certainly the exception in the DAP world. They even send out security updates. A&K has never upgraded the Android version on any of their DAPs and I wouldn't expect that to change. But I would love to see it, especially on the Android 5 and 6 devices which can't run current versions of several streaming apps, including Amazon Music and Tidal, etc.

While that is true, at the same time, even Sony isn't known for keeping their DAPs up to date either.

if you want to stream, you just have to buy a new DAP every once in a while, no matter what DAP maker.

If you want to play local audio files, it doesn't matter what Android Version you run on your DAP.

So this issue is specific for streaming and even Sony didn't fix it. That is why i personally recommend DAP for playing local music files and just get Bluetooth Receiver or USB Dongle that you connect to your phone for streaming.

 

[JasonNYC]

Chinese and Korean hifi brands should learn from Sony. They upgraded Android from 12 to 13 within months and working on Android 14 at the moment which will be rolled out soon.

For those saying 12 is fine, 13 makes no difference, you haven’t used a proper DAP with 13. The experience on Android 13 on the Zx707 is much superior to older version.

To be fair, Sony is a multi-billion dollar corporation that has been in the Android smartphone business for years, so they have a ton of experience and resources already dedicated to Android development compared to Chinese and Korean HiFi brands. Their TVs also run Android/Google TV, so they are pretty entrenched in Android-based products.

 

[AlfyB]

Received mine today, barely started playing around with it, but first impressions are very positive. The interface is very responsive and clear to use with plenty of nifty options, the size fits perfectly in both my hand and my pockets, the buttons feel nice. My playlists got recognised without a hitch, usually a sore point for me on many devices. A few minuses though: not a fan of the buttons being distributed on two sides (it makes it difficult to know what your thumbing when it's in the pocket), you can't access the SD card by connecting the P1 to a computer (you have to take it out and use a reader), and there's no unified interface for online and offline music (it weirdly bothers me a lot for play history, which will only displays the latest offline track, not anything you might have played in the apps).

I certainly haven't tried it enough, nor in conditions good enough, to comment on the sound, but the device itself certainly feels very qualitative, I'm very happy with the build. It's definitely not the most powerful of players, it won't get really loud on my Aeon 2 even on balanced and it might end up getting paired with IEMs instead, but for me it's a keeper.

 

[nioh]

To be fair, Sony is a multi-billion dollar corporation that has been in the Android smartphone business for years, so they have a ton of experience and resources already dedicated to Android development compared to Chinese and Korean HiFi brands. Their TVs also run Android/Google TV, so they are pretty entrenched in Android-based products.

To be fair, you have the expertise in A&K to develop a heavily customized closed source Android OS, but not to give users an open Android with more updates ? No offense to you Jason, but that rather sounds more like a greedy company than lack of funds or experience.

 

[nioh]

there's no unified interface for online and offline music (it weirdly bothers me a lot for play history, which will only displays the latest offline track, not anything you might have played in the apps).

Congrats on your purchase !
That's all A&K DAPs. Their Software is built mostly around the internal player and it's settings. Most of those won't work with other apps (streaming or otherwise).

 

[JasonNYC]

there's no unified interface for online and offline music (it weirdly bothers me a lot for play history, which will only displays the latest offline track, not anything you might have played in the apps).

That's due to DRM in the streaming apps. We don't have access to that to make it available outside the app.

 

[nioh]

That's due to DRM in the streaming apps. We don't have access to that to make it available outside the app.

This is not the case in other Android DAPs. This is just a feedback and hope that you guys will improve your Software in the future.

Normally I would be able to add a widget for my own app on the home screen which would then allow me to see the play history, control playback etc. for that app. Since the P1 has a custom skin on the home screen, this is not possible and this skin only works with the built-in app.

I hope this is clear ?

 

[JasonNYC]

This is not the case in other Android DAPs. This is just a feedback and hope that you guys will improve your Software in the future.

Normally I would be able to add a widget for my own app on the home screen which would then allow me to see the play history, control playback etc. for that app. Since the P1 has a custom skin on the home screen, this is not possible and this skin only works with the built-in app.

I hope this is clear ?

The OP asked about a unified interface combining what he played on the player and what played in the app which is what I was responding to. Completely different than using app widgets, unless I read it wrong. A request has already been passed along about customizing the home screen and allowing app widgets, which is being looked into.

 

[AlfyB]

Indeed, it was just about having one interface, and the limitations are well understood. And frankly it's a small thing. I love how the responsive the interface is right now, and that matters a lot more.

 

[Vamp898]

The OP asked about a unified interface combining what he played on the player and what played in the app which is what I was responding to. Completely different than using app widgets, unless I read it wrong. A request has already been passed along about customizing the home screen and allowing app widgets, which is being looked into.

Sony provides drivers to enable people to build their own Android without any support or responsibility. So users are on their own.

https://developer.sony.com/open-source/aosp-on-xperia-open-devices/

A&K could do this very easily as well. Whatever you put on your DAP is based on AOSP, 100% sure. So you could just provide the AOSP configs (don't even provide an manual, its enough to have patches/configs/drivers) and let the community take over on their own.

I would be absolutely willing to provide unofficial, everyone on his own, biniary images of currend Android Versions as long i have an device i can build and test them on.

I am working on AOSP since roughly 7 years now and i am pretty sure there are more experienced people who would join in.

But to stay fair, Sony provides this for their Smartphones, not for any of their DAPs. And i've not seen any other maker do that. So A&K could be the first to provide the users everything they need to build their own Android on their A&K and customize it.

The effort for A&K would be very low but the reputation in the community would increase by a lot

 

[zilax002]

Congrats on your purchase !
That's all A&K DAPs. Their Software is built mostly around the internal player and it's settings. Most of those won't work with other apps (streaming or otherwise).

Hiby R4