Several variants and later iterations of the Sony Xperia Z have already received an Android Lollipop update, yet the original flagship Sony Xperia Z has gone un-updated so far. That's no longer going to be the case, as the official OTA rollout for the Sony Xperia Z has an official release date.

And it's sooner than you might expect.

In fact, according to Sony fans at the Xperia Blog, the Android 5.0 Lollipop update should be rolling out to Xperia Z handsets as soon as next week, or at the latest, the week after.

The news comes after a Sony Xperia Z handset owner tweeted Sony Philippines' Twitter account asking when his Xperia Z would be getting Lollipop OS. Here's the exchange and the official reply from Sony.

If you're wondering if that's just a regional release, it's not. According to Android Community, a reliable insider at XDA stated that the Xperia firmware would bet an official OTA closer to the end of the next week after what the official Sony tweet said.

But whether it's the beginning of next week or end of the week after that, Sony Xperia Z owners who have a device that's three years old should be rejoicing.

Meanwhile, Google's I/O event will be taking place at the end of May, and Google is expected to preview its next Android iteration, unofficially dubbed "Android M" right now. Then it's likely off to the races come next fall for the next big Android update.