Category: Android

Android Marshmallow represents the 6th major update to the Android platform and while some have argued that it is not worthy of a full “dot-zero” version number, when you see the list of things that Google has added or addressed in v6.0, it starts to make sense. Android Marshmallow is certainly not revolutionary. It is an evolution of Android Lollipop, bringing with it a laundry list of improvements, enhancements and features that will make it a worthy competitor to iOS 9 from Apple and a worthy upgrade for users.

For the sake of saving you having to read 10,000 plus words, I’m not going to go over every single new features that is in Marshmallow. Rather, I’m going to focus on the key features that are likely to impact the most users or are going to have the greatest impact long term on the life of this version of Android. Likewise, I’m not going to try to answer the question of if your particular device will receive Android Marshmallow. I’ll give some guidance but it is nothing more than that. I, in other words, don’t know the answer on if your phone or tablet will see it.

Note that this review has been based on testing and usage of the Developer Preview 3 on a Nexus 6.

Earlier this week I posted a Public Service Announcement to remind everyone to keep their eyes open for updates to their favorite apps as Google and other developers prepare for the release of Android Marshmallow next Tuesday.  It seems now that is happening in earnest and Google Messenger is the first app I’ve found in my updates that explicitly calls out Marshmallow support.  The update is version 1.5 for those of you keeping score at home and it is available now in the Google Play Store.  If you already have Google Messenger installed on your Android phone, it make take a day or two to hit your account.

For those not familiar with it, Google Messenger is the SMS/MMS app from Google that came standard as part of Lollipop but is now a stand alone app.  You can read my review of it here.

Google Messenger for Android – Free – Download Now

A friendly reminder to everyone who uses an Android phone or tablet to keep an eye on your Google Play Store account.  With the announcement that Android Marshmallow is going to start rolling out next Tuesday to Nexus devices and some HTC devices later this year, Google appears to be in high gear getting updates to a big swath of their apps for Android.  In the course of the last 24 hours, eight Google apps have been updated:  Drive, Android Wear, Sheets, Photos, Messenger, Google Play Games, Maps and Chromecast.  That pace is likely to continue the rest of this week and even into Monday prior to the release of Android Marshmallow to the masses.

So why all the updates after a pretty good round of app updates just last week?

Yesterday’s Google event threw out a lot of facts and figures that could have easily been missed if you were distracted at any moment during the 1 hour plus presentation.  If you haven’t had a chance to view it by-the-way, you can do so here.  One interesting number that was thrown out yesterday is actually very telling about where the personal computing industry is today.  Google announced yesterday that there are 1.4 billion active Android users in the world today with a new 400 million active users added since May of last year.  That figure is important because it is only 100 million shy of the once all dominant Windows platform.

Paul Thurrott has some great insights on this over at his site if you want to research this a bit more.

With two new Chromecast devices announced today by Google, it is only fitting that the app for Android has been updated as well.  The updated app is available now in the Google Play Store and it brings a huge number of updates to support better content searching and apps that can use Chromecast already installed on your device. The update is version 1.12.32 for those keeping score at home and is designed for both Android phones and tablets.

Chromecast for Android – Free – Download Now

If you are the owner of an HTC One M8 or One M9, today is a good day for you too.  HTC’s Jason Mackenzie has tweeted that both of these devices will be the first to receive the Android Marshmallow update and that will happen before the end of 2015.

Serving up Marshmallow sweetness real soon. Android 6.0 to start hitting HTC before the end of the year: pic.twitter.com/axITsYSyn9

— Jason Mackenzie (@JasonMacHTC) September 29, 2015

This is great news and while it will lag behind the Google Nexus devices which will get Android Marshmallow next week, it is good to know that HTC is committed and putting a timeline for when users can expect the update.