Friday, December 4, 2015
Android 6.0 Marshmallow release next week – when will you get Android M Update ?
The Developer Preview of Android Marshmallow is available now to owners of Nexus phones, with the final version launching on the new Nexus 5 and new Nexus 6 within the next few weeks. The OS will then become available to other Nexus devices, and within a few months to flagship phones and tablets. Don't expect to get it on your device (unless it's a Nexus) until late 2015/early 2016.
The latest reports come from Talk Android and suggest Google will unveil the Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 on 29 September, with the phones available to pre-order from 13 October. By our reckoning, that means they will go on sale in early November, and Android 6.0 will then begin to roll out to other devices.
Update 21 September: The Google invites are out and it's been confirmed there is a Google event on 29 September. We'll throw our Android devices in the bin and condemn ourselves to a life of iOS if it doesn't announce the final version of Android M on that day.
When will my phone get Android Marshmallow?
Well, that all depends on your phone. If it's a high-end device from a well-known manufacturer such as Sony, Samsung or HTC, it's almost certain that an upgrade to Marshmallow will become available to it. However, don't expect to get the upgrade until early 2016, since it will first roll out to Nexus devices.
Cheaper and older smartphones, or those from smaller manufacturers, may never get the upgrade to Android M. One of the key criticisms against Android is its fragmentation.
At the last count, on 7 September 2015, only 21 percent of Android devices were running Lollipop, and 39.2 percent KitKat. That leaves nearly 40 percent running Android operating systems more than two years old, and 40 percent translates to an awful lot of phones and tablets.
If you're running Lollipop now then you may well get an upgrade to Android M. If you're running KitKat or an older Android operating system, don't count your chickens.
HTC has already confirmed that the HTC One M9, HTC One M9+ and HTC One M8 will all receive the Android M update.
Android Milkshake or Android Marshmallow? Android 5.2 or Android 6.0? What will the new Android be called?
After months of rumours and arguments in the office over the version number and name of the next Android, Google has finally ended the dispute by announcing that Android M will be Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
So Milkshake, Mars, Macadamia, Milky Way, Meringue, Milk Dud and other possibles are all out of the window. Also the 5:20 time in the demo mode of one of the developer previews indicating the version number being 5.2 is also incorrect. We also thought it would be 5.2 since there are no major updates.
Following Android Alpha and Android Beta, Google has always named its Android OS updates after sweet treats, and in alphabetical order. So far we've had Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat and Lollipop.
"Whether you like them straight out of the bag, roasted to a golden brown exterior with a molten center, or in fluff form, who doesn’t like marshmallows? We definitely like them! Since the launch of the M Developer Preview at Google I/O in May, we’ve enjoyed all of your participation and feedback. Today with the final Developer Preview update, we're introducing the official Android 6.0 SDK and opening Google Play for publishing your apps that target the new API level 23 in Android Marshmallow," said Google.
Android Marshmallow new features: What to expect from new Android M
Android M is an incremental upgrade and focuses largely on bug fixes. Google is concentrating on six areas with Android M: App Permissions, Web Experience, App Links, Mobile Payments, Fingerprint Support and Power & Charging
A few of these categories are particularly interesting. In terms of power Google announced Doze, a new deeper-sleep state for devices running Android M that uses motion detection to learn when a device is not in use and puts them into a sort of ultra power-saving mode. You'll still get important notifications, but Doze has the potential to bring up to two times longer battery life, as Google has shown to be the case with the Nexus 9 running Android M.
When the power finally runs out there will be Android M-wide support for USB Type C, or USB-C, which is a reversible-type connector that not only allows you to charge your phone or tablet three- to five times faster but you can use it to charge another device.
With Android M Google will also standardise support for fingerprint sensors. Not only will these be used to unlock and secure your phone, but they tie in nicely with the new Android Pay mobile payments system, which focuses on simplicity, security and choice. Android Pay is an open API, allowing devs to add it to their own apps.
App permissions are also changing in Android M. Rather than requesting your permission to use certain features at installation time, Android M apps will request permission for activities the first time it is required.
Many of the new features in Android are developer-focused improvements (as show in the below slide) that will make the whole experience smoother for Android users, although they may not necessarily be obvious changes.
Another new feature in Android M is Now on Tap, which is in essence Google Now but wherever you are on your phone.
But perhaps more exciting even than Android M is the new Google Photos, now offering unlimited storage for high-resolution photos that can be accessed and shared from anywhere - not just on Android.
Android Marshmallow live video stream:
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