Google puts first final version Android 6.0 online

Google has put the first firmwares with the final version of Android 6.0 online. As usual, Google’s own Nexus devices can get the update first. Devices from other manufacturers will follow in the coming months.

The updates have appeared on Google’s page, where factory images can be found. Users can flash the update via their PC or wait for the over-the-air update, which should come sometime in the coming weeks. Currently, Android Marshmallow is available for the Nexus 6, 5, 9, Player and 7 (2013).

Other manufacturers will follow in the coming months, with HTC and Motorola, among others, having already announced the first plans for updates. HTC will update the One M9 and One M8 at the end of this year, with other devices coming next year.

Google presented Marshmallow as Android M at the end of May. The new Android version includes better permission management, where apps ask for permission when they need a permission, just like on iPhones during use. With Android 5.1 and lower, this is done in one go when installed in the Play Store. The new setup also allows users to deny apps access to, for example, location or contacts.

In addition, with Doze, Google has a function to reduce battery consumption in standby by merging requests from various apps to go online and then go back to sleep. Now On Tap is also included in Android 6.0, which allows users to ask Google Now for information about something that is currently on the screen, for example on a web page or in a chat conversation. Now On Tap reads the screenshot by finding out via the Hierarchy Viewer in Android which content is important on the screen and entering it as a Google search in the background, after which it can present the results.

There are also improvements in the way users can restore backups and Google has built its own payment system Android Pay into the operating system.