Sony Xperia Pro just became an even more appealing Android phone

When it comes to the best Android phones for creatives, Sony makes some of the best phones you can buy – and in its latest software update it's added some key new features to the Xperia Pro and Xperia Pro-I.

The new update is for the External Monitor feature, and it now includes Livestreaming, Wave Form and False Colour capabilities. Wave Form automatically checks the exposure and RGB balance, Falce Colour makes some exposure details more noticeable, and there are also some new control features for some Sony Alpha cameras. Together these features make it easy to livestream from an Alpha camera via the Xperia Pro or Pro-I in full quality.

If you own one of these phones you should have received a push update already; if you haven't, you can check manually in your settings app.

Why Sony's Xperia Pro and Pro-I are the creatives' choice

These are not cheap phones by any means – even after a massive price cut, the Pro-I is $1,199.99 in the US and £1,399 in the UK – but these are not everyday point and shoot phones. The Pro-I is a camera that happens to have a phone in it, and it is the first smartphone to have a 1.0-type image sensor. It's designed specifically for professional photographers who need class-leading tools and don't mind paying for them.

If you're interested in the best Sony phones but don't need the advanced features of the Pro or Pro-I, Sony has another option aimed at creatives: the Xperia 1 IV. It's £100 cheaper in the UK (but not in the US, where it's $1,599) and as far as photography and video are concerned it has a significantly better specification than most premium phones. Where the Pros are cameras first and phones second, the Xperia 1 IV is more balanced - but like the Pro models it isn't here to hold your hand: it's aimed at photographers who want total control over everything, just as they would with a DSLR.