Google Android Marshmallow (Android 6.0) – Next Android OS Version
Google has announced the next version of Android OS as Android
Marshmallow (or Android 6.0 or Android M). A marshmallow is a sugar
based candy. It will replace the current Android Lollipop as the latest
version of Android OS. You can notice from the name that Google has kept
the continuity in the naming of the next version – first, it is too
based on a name of a sugary candy/product (marshmallow) and the first
letter of the name is exact in sequence with the first letters of the
previous and current OS names, like Jellybean, Kitkat, Lollipop, and now Marshmallow
(J,K,L,M). So you can easily predict the future upgrades with be like
N, O , P, …and hence the one of the logic behind the Alphabet name for the new company.
The new version of the Android will be more polished and give more
unified feel across the personal devices along with improved voice
control option. It will also come with in-built fingerprint scanning
support for exploring more uses of the finger-print scanner which is
currently limited to unlocking the device. It is now available to the app developers for making their apps compatible or ready for the new version. It will be launched for the consumers by the end of this year.
Compared to the previous developer preview update, you will find this final API update fairly incremental. You can check out all the API differences here, but a few of the changes since the last developer update include:
- Android Platform Change: Final Permissions User Interface — we updated the permissions user interface and enhanced some of the permissions behaviour.
- API Change: Updates to the Fingerprint API — which enables better error reporting, better fingerprint enrolment experience, plus enumeration support for greater reliability.
New features for users:
- App Linking – so that the platform can determine the default app to use to handle a particular web link and skip prompting users to select an app.
- Auto Backup for Apps – The system will now performs automatic full data backup and restore for apps. But if users delete their Google accounts, their backup data is deleted as well.
- Fingerprint Authentication – Let authenticate users by using their fingerprint scans on supported devices.
- Confirm Credential – Apps can authenticate users based on how recently they last unlocked their device. This feature frees users from having to remember additional app-specific passwords
Dave Burke, VP Eng (Android) @ Google has tweeted the name along with a picture of upcoming OS statue kept on the lawn at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, US.
