Category: Google

As I put in my what to expect from the Google event post yesterday, the company announced today that Android Marshmallow will start being delivered to existing Nexus devices starting next Monday, October 5th.  This date was somewhat confirmed prior to the event thanks to leaked documents but with it being official from Google, we are set.

The devices that will be receiving the update OTA starting Monday will be the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9 and the Nexus Player.  The Nexus 4 and the Nexus 7 (2012) will not be receiving the update as I posted yesterday which has caused some anger, particularly for the Nexus 4.

As expected, the Google Store has now been updated and you can pre-order your new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P today.  The new phones were announced today at the Google event (which you can watch here) and both will be shipping with Android Marshmallow.  Both phones are expected to ship later on this month.

If you are a fan of Google and have been reading the Interwebs today, you know it has been a busy day.  Loads of leaks and other details about the new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P have been flowing like water and this is all the day before the actual Google event tomorrow in San Francisco.  Some of the news has been confirmation of what we already pretty much know like the specs of the 5X and the 6P but some of it has been new tidbits.  One of those new rumors is that Google plans to sell the new Nexus lineup online only through the Google Store.  Some have read this as a risky move by Google given that they will ultimately be bypassing the carriers who did sell the Nexus 6 and previous devices as well as other retailers.  In fact this decision to sell them online is the first time Google has done this since the original Nexus One back in 2007.

To me however, this is a smart move by Google.  It gives them the cleanest path to the consumer and it follows the trend that the market is dictating, namely people want to buy devices and not necessarily be tied into a carrier contract.  Yes they have to get it right and there are examples of how to get it wrong, including Google themselves, but this could be the way of the future for all manufactures.

Earlier this afternoon I posted the full specs of the Nexus 5X and now its time to tell you about the Nexus 6P.  The Nexus 6P is the larger of the two devices, coming in with a display of 5.7″ and is expected to be announced be available for purchase tomorrow at the Google event in San Francisco.  The 6P is expected to start at $499.99 and will be the first Nexus device to offer 128GB of on-board storage should you want to go that route.  The Nexus 6P certainly has the specs of a flagship but like the 5x, there are some things that make me scratch my head a bit.

With Android Marshmallow expected to be released tomorrow at the Google event in San Francisco, the inevitable question is which devices that are out there today will get the update.  Because of the way that Google handles updates – letting the OEMs do it – The timing and even if a device will see an update is a bit nebulous at best and painful at worst.  As we are less than 24 hours away from the event, the list of devices that will be getting Android Marshmallow is starting to become a bit clearer.

While it has not been included in the Android Marshmallow beta testing, all indications are that the Nexus 7 (2013) will be getting the update once it is released next week.  The 7″ tablet built by Asus certainly falls within the 3 year support window that Google has for their devices and given that specifications of the Nexus 7 (2013) meet the minimum criteria, there should be no reason it won’t be updated.