The release of Android Marshmallow is drawing closer, and as with any new OS release, our team at TAB is excited about what this means for our clients and their users alike. Getting stuck into the Beta version of M created lots of discussion and deliberation at TAB HQ, especially for our product owners and Android engineers as they explore how these updates impact our current and future projects. Here is a quick summary of the key features and changes expected from Android M.

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Android 6.0
Marshmallow pre-release briefing
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Less about showstopping features (with the exception of Now
on Tap), and more about smart improvements, at the heart of
the next Android software release - Android M (Marshmallow)
- is an overriding drive to improve the user experience.
Google is using this latest release to solve some of the most
pressing - and annoying - issues with the operating system.
Ultimately, this means that when the final release goes live, it
should bring about one of the most polished versions of
Android to date - if not the most exciting.

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Improving the user experience with Android M
Power to the people

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With Now on Tap, we see Google really capitalising on their
expertise with machine learning. While we aren’t talking
Skynet here, nevertheless it can be either a magical or
slightly scary experience (depending on your point of view)
when you see Now on Tap provide you with its predictive
suggestions based on what you will do next.
Simply tap and hold the Home button inside any Android app, and up will
pop the familiar Now cards at the bottom of your screen. The outcome is
intelligent, contextual information at the touch of a button - and the
results are outstanding.
Google Now used to only gather information from Gmail services. However,
the Now API has since been opened up to parse data from over 100 other
apps as it searches for the best actionable connections. For instance, if a
friend messages an invite to you for a film they want to see, Now on Tap will
provide local cinema listings, trailers and reviews from sites like IMDB and
Rotten Tomatoes on demand - with a single tap.
Now on Tap

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It’s been a long time coming, but with Android M Google have
significantly revised app permissions - increasing privacy and
security in the process by giving users more granular control
over what apps can access on their devices.
Let’s say you install an app from the Play Store. Currently, in order to use it,
you must agree to all permissions at the point of installation - whether you
actually agree with them or not, or even fully understand what you are granting
access to. Take Instagram, for example. At the moment, when you download
the app, Instagram will ask for your permission to access your profile, contacts,
media files, your camera and even your microphone and location.
In Android M, you will only be prompted to grant permission when it is actually
required - at the point of use, and while you are in-app. Marshmallow will also
remember your preference. So rather than grant permission for everything up
front, instead you will be able to control much more carefully just what
Instagram can use. That’s great news if you never shoot video, for example, and
have no need for Instagram to access your microphone.
You will also be able to control permissions from within the revamped device
permissions centre. You can control these either app by app, or by each given
permission - so, you can see all apps that have access to your microphone and
turn them off if you want.
App permissions

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Another feature that might seem a small detail, but which
should have a big impact on the user experience, is the subtle
adjustment to how Android handles web links in Marshmallow.
Take a look at the screen to the left. Look familiar? Currently, if you click a link,
Android will ask you which app (that is capable of opening it) you wish to use.
Over time, it can become a real bug bear.
In Android M, that irritation will be removed. Assuming you have the official app
installed, you will no longer see the dialogue box - which means no more
opening a link to Twitter in Chrome. Instead, you will just go directly from the
link to the official Twitter app. This is because developers will be able to write a
small piece of code that specifically associates an app to a URL they own.
This is a much more intuitive approach, and is again one that users will be
happy to see implemented. The new app linking will help create a more
seamless experience by taking users to the most relevant app without the
need to prompt them and interrupt the journey.
One downside is that it won’t see the end of the dreaded ‘complete action
using’ dialogue box entirely, though: apps have to explicitly opt-in to app
linking. However, it should at least drastically lower the amount of times it
gets in our faces.
App links

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Android M will see Google go full steam ahead with their
updated mobile payments system. It’s been a challenging
journey, with lots of hard lessons learned after Wallet and
with considerable ground already lost to Apple Pay.
While Google Wallet was originally released in 2011, widespread consumer
adoption was lacking - as was the infrastructure for a mobile payments system.
In the succeeding years, however, both the technology and consumer
confidence has shot up - something that is clear in the Apple Pay adoption
figures alone.
Google’s aim is to make Android Pay the most convenient available but strictly
speaking, Android Pay isn’t a Marshmallow feature. It has already been
launched in the US and is compatible with NFC devices running Android KitKat
and above. However, there is no doubt that this release will bring key
improvements to the service.
This includes fingerprint technology, so you won’t even need to open an app -
just touch to unlock your device and pay. Another feature of Android Pay will
also automatically link up any app loyalty cards found on a device, so there is
no need to fumble between apps to get your just rewards.
While Android Pay is currently available in the US, there is no UK release date as
yet - so watch this space.
Android Pay

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Android M makes room for fingerprint sensor functionality for
the first time and demonstrates a drive by Google to
standardise it across the whole platform.
A double move by Google: not only will Android Pay support fingerprint sensor
functionality, but the two new Nexus devices coming out later this year will also
come preloaded with Android Marshmallow, Android Pay and fingerprint
scanners.
While some devices already have this feature built in, there has never been
native support for it via the operating system before. This made using the
technology difficult and cumbersome to use - Android M aims to rectify that.
Fingerprint scanners

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Improving battery life in Android M
Power efficiencies

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Google aim to make a number of power saving - and time
saving - changes with Android M. These will reduce your need
to physically shut down apps, and drastically improve your
device’s battery life.
You know how the story goes. Your battery is running on empty way too early in
the day and honestly, its a mystery as to why. Upon some investigation, you
realise that almost every single app on your phone is open - even those that
you don’t use very often.
While this is a common problem, there hasn’t really been a solution - until
now. Android M sends ‘idle’ apps into a kind of standby mode. An app is
deemed idle when the user hasn’t interacted with it for a certain period of
time.
Providing the device is unplugged, the system will disable network access and
suspend synchronisation, saving you valuable battery life. It also has the added
bonus of eliminating the need to kill all open apps or manually shut them down
one by one (which we always forget to do).
App standby mode

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Doze is another attempt to maximise your device’s battery
life. It will save battery when you aren’t using it, while still
allowing you access your device when you need to.
Alas, no smartphone battery is impervious to being drained in the background.
Google has attempted to at least minimise this pain via Doze in Android M. They
claim their internal tests have seen battery life increase by double on standby
mode when compared to Lollipop.
While the app standby mode closes individual apps that haven’t been used in a
while, Doze will send your device into an even deeper slumber and close down
background functions like email fetching. Using your device’s motion detection
sensors, Doze will take effect when the device is unplugged, stationary and the
screen is off for a set period of time. Once it meets these criteria, it
effectively shuts down all background applications that aren’t high priority. It
will resume normal activity for brief periods of time, so as to allow the system
a chance to perform app syncing and any pending operations as necessary.
Essentials like your alarm aren’t affected, though - so no excuses about your
smartphone failing to wake you up in the morning.
Doze

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Key dates

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Android 6.0 dates
Expected Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) release: 29/09/2015
Rumoured Nexus 2015 pre-order availability: 13/10/2015

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