The smartphone market is buzzing again; Google has released Android’s latest operating system (OS), ‘Android M’, which is to succeed the Lollipop.
At the Google I/O 2015 keynote, Dave Burke, vice-president, engineering, for Android at Google, revealed that Android M was going to replace Lollipop over this year. The company has released the preview of the new OS on Nexus handsets and is likely to offer it in other devices subsequently. Though details of the rollout timeline are yet to be disclosed, it is likely the company will first start with other Google-produced phones like MotoX and high-end ones like the Samsung Galaxy series.
Android M, with hundreds of platform improvements, is seen as Google’s most powerful release. Unlike Android 5.0 Lollipop, which introduced a new design and interface, Android M is reported to focus on improving the stability and usability of the software, as well as the core user experience.
Here’s a look at how the ‘M’ is going to improve on the ‘L’.
Now on tap: Revolutionary or creepy?
The talk of the hour for Android M is the ‘Google Now Tap for Android M’ feature, which claims to know what you are looking at, and guesses what you want to know next. It lets Android’s personal assistant examine whatever is happening on your screen and automatically take relevant actions. Basically, Google Now is being infused into every piece of the Android operating system.
Creepy? Not really. It is actually more like your digital assistant and advisor by your side to speed up your decisions. The feature has been developed to be a mind reader of sorts, using its digital sight, constantly collecting information about the emails and stories you are reading, the music you are listening to, and the route you are driving on.
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In the ideal scenario, the feature is likely to suggest when to leave, to make appointments, track your coming flights, play you some music of your choice, prompt you to order food of your choice and many more day-to-day hacks you can think of.
As of now, the vast majority of its functionality, which will potentially blow your mind, isn’t live for Android M. Google Now just looks at the context of a given situation faster than you can, and provides some very logical jumping-off points. It’s not scary, it’s only scarily efficient.
Fingerprint support
Another new feature on the ‘M’ OS is ‘Finger Print Support’. This is not really a new feature in the mobile domain but definitely first for Android. iOs has already been using this for a while now and some high-end phones like Samsung Galaxy S6 offer similar features as well. In fact, to use this feature, an Android phone must have a fingerprint support system enabled.
Android Pay
One of the big introductions in Android M is Android Pay. It will be pre-installed on Android 4.4+ devices and will be supported on devices with NFC running Android KitKat and above, without opening any app. Android Pay is secure because a virtual card number is created when you register a payment card, rather than an actual card number. For now, this has just been announced for the US; it is expected to delve into other regions later.
Battery-life enhanced
This feature is being called Doze, and deals with saving those precious battery bars. Battery life has been a great concern for Android users since the beginning, and Google is possibly looking to resurrect its standing on this parameter through this new feature.
Doze is a system state that will idle your device and background apps to near-off when you haven’t used it for a while, a tactic that can make your phone last twice as long as it does at present.
To demonstrate this, the search giant said at the Google I/O that it grabbed two Nexus 9 tablets, one running Lollipop and the other Android M, loaded the same apps and settings on both and then tested the standby power drain on the two. Apparently, the Nexus 9 running on Android M lasted up to twice as long as its Lollipop counterpart. Sounds impressive!
In addition to this, ‘M’ is also bringing faster charging with USB-C support, which is a new type of USB connector that is like Apple’s Lightning connector; it can be plugged in either way and allows for faster and easier charging. It also lets users charge other devices with their Android phone.
App permissions
A newly designed app permissions system is next in line. Users will be able to approve or deny security permissions, such as camera or location access, on a case-by-case basis. Currently the way Android works, users are asked to approve all permissions at once when an app is installed. This will change, as one will be able to update the permissions at times other than installation, too.
This basically means that a user can grant permission to select applications but not others. Now, apps will ask for permission when you use a feature, rather than at installation.
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Other than these major improvements, the new OS includes changes on how text selection works. Google is also revamping the web-browsing experience with its Chrome browser. A new feature called Chrome Custom Tabs lets developers insert web views directly in their apps, giving them the full power of Chrome without having to force the user to switch apps.
Some minor interface changes also include changes to the app drawer, and to volume controls but could have a big impact on how user-friendly Android devices are. The new app organisation makes it a lot easier to manage large app libraries, for instance, and the volume controls now actually let you control the volume on your device, instead of being more or less completely confusing.
The company, however, has yet to answer all the curious calls for details. One, for example, is sweet the expandable ‘M’ stands for — M&M, Mars or Mentos? Keep guessing.