Google released an update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow this week and while it doesn’t pack a ton of new features, it does add some significant upgrades that Android users will be happy to see. The trouble, of course, is that it will likely take most Android phones a long time to get Android 6.0.1, especially since most Android phones haven’t even updated to Android 6.0 yet. That said, there are some very cool features users can look forward to trying out whenever they do get the new software. Let’s go over them below.
All the new emoji
Some Android fans have expressed irritation in the past that iOS tends to get the newest emoji before Android does. With the release of Android 6.0.1, Android has caught up in the realm of support for emoji and it has added support for more Unicode 8.0 emoji that Apple added with the release of iOS 9.1.
Double tap the power button to launch the camera
Android Police notices that Android 6.0.1 now gives older Nexus devices (including the Nexus 5, 6, 7 and 9) the ability to open up the camera just by double tapping the power button. This was a feature that Google debuted earlier this year with the Nexus 5x and Nexus 6P but this is the first time it’s come to older phones.
There’s no word yet on whether this feature will be included in non-Nexus Android phones that get Android 6.0.1 but it’s definitely something to look out for.
A small but important tweak to Do Not Disturb mode
Improving Do Not Disturb mode was an important feature of Android 6.0 and Google has tweaked it a little bit more with Android 6.0.1. Android Police explains that Android 6.0.1 brings back the ability to mute all your notifications until your next scheduled alarm goes off, which is a useful way to make sure you aren’t being constantly interrupted even during times when you want to be left alone in peace. This feature was previously available on Android before Google mysteriously removed it with Android 6.0, although now it seems to be back by popular demand.
9 Sweet Hidden Features Inside Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Androids latest sugary flavor isnt a huge change from Lollipop, but its a welcome upgrade.
Google began rolling out updates to Android 6.0 Marshmallow a month ago, but chances are you dont have it on your device yet, unless you have a Nexus or just purchased a brand-new Android phone, like the HTC One A9.
I received the upgrade for my Nexus 7 tablet. But usually the hold up with Android updates can be attributed to the messy patchwork of manufacturers and carriers making sure their particularly noxious stew of overlays and bloatwarework well together.
Let us turn to the positive and take a moment to acknowledge that we have a brand spanking new chapter of Android, which well all have at some point (unless we get so frustrated with Androids clusterfudge of an ecosystem that we switch to iOS or Firefox OS or something).
To be honest, even if you dont have the opportunity to upgrade anytime soon, you wont be missing much. Marshmallow looks and feels almost exactly like Android 5.0 Lollipop save for a very scant layer of OS housecleaning. While there are some important changes happening behind the scenes like a new fingerprint sensor API (which will only be of use depending on your device) or a battery-saving feature called Doze, theres nothing truly revolutionary from a UX point of view.
While Marshmallow doesnt reinvent the mobile wheel in any meaningful way, it still manages to pack in some cool new features that youll want to check out. Here are nine new features were pretty excited about (and might make us overlook the Android ecosystems many, many faults).
Note: As detailed above, Android is a hot mobile mess. So, no two OEMs Marshmallow experiences are the same. That means that even when your device finally gets an upgrade, these features may function/look slightly differently than they do here (or not be included at all). Keep that in mind and good luck!
Got Marshmallow? 6 cool things to try with Android 6.0
Googles Android 6.0 release is oozing with interesting features -- including some that are easily overlooked.
By now, youve no doubt heard all about Googles Android 6.0 Marshmallow release. Maybe you already have it on your phone or tablet -- or maybe youre hoping thisll be the month your devices manufacturer gets a rollout your way.
No matter: Whether youre already enjoying Marshmallows sweet flavors or merely anticipating its arrival, nows a fine time to bone up on your Android 6.0 know-how and add some of the softwares less obvious abilities onto your mental to-try list.
So grab your brain-based pencil and get ready to jot stuff down: Here are six cool things to try with Marshmallow on your Android phone or tablet.
(Looking for a more detailed overview of Marshmallow and its many changes? Click over to my in-depth Android 6.0 FAQ. Its jam-packed with juicy goodness -- promise.)
1. Take control of your Quick Settings panel and status bar
Androids Quick Settings panel is a handy way to -- yup, you guessed it -- get to settings quickly, especially those you use often. The only problem is that up til now, Googles move toward simplicity in stock Android meant there was no way to customize the panel and make it more useful for your own personal needs.
Marshmallow gives you more control -- but you have to know how to unlock it. Start by swiping down twice from the top of your screen (or swiping down once with two fingers) to open the Quick Settings panel. See the little gear icon in the upper-right corner? Press and hold your finger to it for a few seconds, and youll see it start to spin (whee!).
Once youve finished oohing and ahhing at the pretty spinny show, lift your finger and look for the message letting you know that Marshmallows experimental System UI Tuner has been enabled. And dont worry: Despite the strongly worded on-screen intro, theres nothing scary here (and you can always turn it all off and go back to normal if you suddenly get skittish).
Now that the System UI Tuner is enabled, head into your main system settings and scroll all the way down to the very bottom of the list. Tap the newly present "System UI Tuner" option, and marvel at all the fun and fancy things you can do.
You can tune a Marshmallow, but you cant tune a fish: Android 6.0s System UI Tuner
The section labeled "Quick Settings" will let you add, remove, and reorder tiles from the Quick Settings panel. "Status bar" holds a checklist of icons that show up in your top-of-screen status bar -- things like those symbols for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular data youre always seeing. You can toggle any of them on or off to eliminate extra clutter (provided, of course, that you dont find them useful).
And the menu item called "Show embedded battery percentage" puts an actual numerical value into the always-present status bar battery icon so you can always see exactly how much power you have remaining at a glance.
2. Say so long to pesky peek notifications
One of Android 5.0s most misguided additions was the "heads-up" or "peek" notification -- a new kind of notification that showed up on your screen and got in the way while offering no easily expandable information. The Android 5.1 Lollipop release made things a bit better by allowing you to swipe up on such alerts and get them out of the way without dismissing them entirely, but the intrusiveness and limited functionality of the setup still made it less than ideal for lots of us.
Well, thank your lucky stars: Android 6.0 introduces a way to disable "peek" notifications on an app-by-app basis, so you can choose what apps are able to interrupt you in that way and what apps are limited to good old-fashioned unobtrusive status bar alerts. (Thats right: No third-party workaroundsrequired!)
Just mosey into the "Sound & notification" section of your system settings and tap the option labeled "App notifications." Find the app you want to adjust and tap it -- then uncheck the "Allow peeking" setting on the screen that appears.
No peeking: Marshmallows way of saying "leave me the hell alone, you app-hole!"
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3. Try out Marshmallows advanced text selection tools
In addition to making it easier to select and manipulate text, Android 6.0 has a new feature that lets developers tap into the text selection tool and add their own custom options.
In other words, you can select text -- on a Web page, in an email, in a document, or wherever -- and then use the same pop-up menu that has commands like "cut" and "paste" to beam the text into a third-party app for seamless on-screen actions.
Its a pretty niche feature, really, and it probably isnt something a ton of apps are going to (or should) take advantage of. But a couple of early adopters are putting the system to use in interesting and potentially handy ways.
If you dont already have em, grab the Google Translate and Wikipedia apps from the Play Store (both free). The former lets you select a word or phrase anywhere in the system and then translate it into another language on the spot, without switching apps or disrupting what youre doing. The latter offers a similar function, only -- as youd expect -- with a Wikipedia lookup instead of a language translation.
Look, ma, I know languages! On-the-fly translating (and other actions) with Android 6.0
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4. Give your device some situational smarts
Android 6.0s Do Not Disturb mode makes it easier than ever to keep your phone from beeping or buzzing when youre busy -- but beneath the surface lies an option thatllreally simplify your life.
Head back into the "Sound & notification" section of your system settings, then tap the line that says "Do not disturb." Next, select "Automatic rules" and start thinking about when exactly you want your phone to stay silent.
Android 6.0 knows when to shut up -- if you take the time to teach it
You can create rules to keep your device totally quiet or mostly quiet based on the day and time or on the presence of specific types of active calendar events.
Ahh...the sound of silence.
5. Give Marshmallows new hidden file manager a whirl
File managers have been around on Android for ages, but Google has never built one natively into the OS. That all changes with Marshmallow, though the new system-level file manager isnt exactly designed for the average user to find.
Want to try it out? Go to your system settings and tap "Storage & USB." Scroll all the way to the bottom and look for the line labeled "Explore."
Tap that, and ta-da: Youve got a functional, albeit basic, file manager on your hands. Itll let you browse through the full contents of your devices storage and delete, share, or copy files as needed.
File Marshmallows hidden file manager away in your bag of personal Android tricks
If you need to do more than that, a third-party file manager app is still the way to go. (I like Cabinet, though there are plenty of more robust options if you need something with lots of oomph.) But hey, its still interesting to know what your phone and tablet are capable of doing, isnt it?
6. Play Googles hidden Marshmallow game
Google loves Easter eggs -- those tasty bits of silliness tucked into software and waiting to be found. Wouldnt you know it, then, that Android 6.0 has its own amusing little gem: a new Flappy Bird-like game that challenges you to move tiny Android robots through a deadly marshmallow jungle (yes, really).
To get to it, go to the "About" section of your system settings. Tap on the line with the Android version a few times until you see a giant "M" appear on your screen. Tap the "M" a few times, then leave your finger pressed down on it. When yo
Page 1 of 2Android Marshmallow: 14 new AWESOME features
Google releases a slightly improved version of Android - but with Android Marshmallow, it’s pulled out all the stops. The latest version of Android adds new features like the battery-saving Doze mode and the brand new Google Now on Tap – and it’s the biggest update we’ve seen to Google’s mobile OS in a ages. Still not sure if you should upgrade? Here are 14 reasons we think Marshmallow is the best version of Android we’ve seen.
1. Android Pay
Much like Apple Pay, Android Pay allows users to store credit and debit card information on their smartphones, and then wirelessly pay for goods and services quickly and securely. To make it more secure, Android Pay uses a virtual account number instead of your own, and also keeps a detailed history of purchases made using the app.
If you’re unlucky enough to lose your phone, Google has you covered. Android Device Manager makes it easy to remotely lock and wipe your Android device in the event of loss or theft.
The only catch? Android Pay has been in the US since late September, but we still don’t know when it’s coming to the UK.
2. USB Type-C
USB Type-C represents the holy grail of connections. It’s silly-fast, can be used any way up – and it’s going to be the most commonly used connection in the next few years. What’s more, it also allow for much faster charging than conventional cables: it can fully charge a Nexus 6P in around two hours.
As you’d expect, Android Marshmallow is futureproofed with built-in USB Type-C support, so as long as your smartphone has the connection, Marshmallow can take advantage of it.
3. Adoptive Storage
Most Android phones allow you to insert some form of memory card, but previous versions of Android always treated it as a separate entity. While that’s great if you want to swap memory cards around – it can be annoying if you want to use the memory card as a permanent storage solution. That’s where Adoptive Storage comes in. Rather than treating the memory card as a separate storage space, Marshmallow can treat it like the rest of the memory on your phone. The result? You can use your memory card space without any fuss.
4. Now on Tap
One of the biggest changes to Android Marshmallow comes in the form of Google Now. Although it may look the same as before, Google Now is now pre-baked into every area of the OS, and it’s cleverer than ever. Google Now’s focus is now on “context”, and that means the digital assistant will be better at understanding where you are, and what you’ll need to know as a result.
5. System UI Tuner
Marshmallow fixes one of our biggest pet peeves with the Android operating system. Google’s mobile OS uses the status bar at the top of your screen for key information about reception, battery life and more – but it can get crowded and scruffy at times.
Se
With the System UI Tuner, users can now add their battery percentage to the system tray, and choose which other things they want to be displayed there. The result? Your Android phone will only show the information you want to see.
6. Improved Copy and Pasting
Although it seems like a relatively simple task, previous versions of Android made cutting and pasting text a fiddly, frustrating affair. Before, Google’s OS forced you to go to the top of the screen to cut, copy and paste – but Marshmallow lets you hover just above the selected text. If that sounds familiar, that’s because it’s exactly what iOS already does – but we’ll forgive Google as it’s a vast improvement over its original solution.
7. Custom Google tabs
Google Chrome is one of the best mobile browsers around, and Marshmallow makes it easier for developers to integrate into their own, third-party apps. That means you don’t have to switch applications when you need to browse the web, and it also means that when you are let loose on Googles browsers, all of your passwords and logins are stored and ready to go. The result? The whole browsing experience is much more seamless.
I know that not everyone even has Android Lollipop yet, so I wont just concentrate on the differences between the two most recent versions of Android. Instead Ill look at the major areas of the new OS, whether they are new, improved or missing in action. Ill break the review down into: the visual appearance of Android Marshmallow; integration of new Google products; core features of the system; security; and improvements to usability.
Update: Weve added more feedback on the fingerprint scanner and Nexus Imprint as well as further information on dark mode and Adaptable Storage Devices for microSD expansion. See the relevant sections below for more details.
Android Marshmallow was initially announced at Google I/O on May 28, when it was released as the Android M developer preview. Several updates to the preview came out before Marshmallow was officially named on August 17. Google finally unveiled Android 6.0 Marshmallow, alongside the 2015 Nexus devices, on September 29, 2015.
As usual, Googles Nexus family was first to get the goods, and the brand new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P were the launch devices for Android 6.0. Factory images for most of the existing Nexus range – the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player – appeared on October 5.
To see when your device will get Android 6.0, check the following guide:
Android Marshmallow is visually similar to its predecessor, Lollipop, in many ways. Google’s Material Design language is now more pervasive than ever before and the main areas of the UI – settings, notifications shade and navigation – remain the same. But Marshmallow does have some differences in appearance and new features.
Settings shortcuts
Android has let you create shortcuts to particular settings, such as the battery or display, for a while, but until Marshmallow, the icons for these shortcuts all looked the same. Now, the standard cog widget shape contains an icon depicting what that particular shortcut goes to, as shown in the screenshot below.
The Marshmallow lock screen is almost identical to Lollipops, complete with expandable notifications and app shortcuts. But where Lollipop had shortcuts in the bottom corners that too you to the camera and dialer, Marshmallow replaces the dialer shortcut with one to Google’s voice search. This small update is the first clue as to just how integral voice commands are to Marshmallow.
Voice search has a completely new look too. Four colored dots float, become a waveform and then rotate as your voice request is picked up and then processed. The response rate varies, depending on the complexity of the search terms and your internet speed, but the results are generally accurate. You can also launch apps from the lock screen using your voice.
Home screen
The same voice command functionality appears on the home screen via Google’s dedicated search bar, complete with the colorful, post-Alphabet Google logo. The home screen itself is essentially the same as it was in Lollipop (the changes to Google’s search bar and app icons have rolled out to all devices via updates).
Google Now, assuming you have signed up for it, returns to its dedicated position to the immediate left of the default home screen. This area has also been updated but again, it is not a Marshmallow exclusive feature. Google Now on Tap (more on this later) is now launched by a long press on the home button in the navigation bar.
You have a few options for launching apps: from voice commands, app icons, the recent apps multitasking cards or the new-look app drawer. You can also jump straight into the app drawer search bar by long-pressing the app drawer icon. This shortcut will also launch your keyboard, just as it did in Lollipop.
The app drawer in Marshmallow went through a couple of changes during the developer preview process and appears in the final version as a vertical scrolling list as opposed to the paginated horizontal list from Lollipop. You can scroll through the list or use a new scrubber bar on the right to jump to a particular letter of the alphabet.
An endless vertical list means its easy to swipe right to the end of your app list – certainly moreso than swiping through multiple cards in Lollipop. Predictive apps, based on the time of day, frequency and so on, appear in a special area at the top of the app drawer and you also have the added bonus of the dedicated app search bar thats accessible via the keyboard or voice, as well as the scrubber bar.
As always, you can drag app icons from the app drawer to the home screen, but when dragging apps, you’ll now see the option to uninstall them at the top of the screen, alongside App Info or the Remove action. This only works if the app you’re dragging isn’t a system app but it’s a much more convenient way to uninstall apps.
The best thing is that these changes are part of the Google search app, so an update to that will deliver these features to all older Androids as well. The update adds the new search bar, voice interface, search bar and alphabet scrubber in the app drawer, and vertical app drawer orientation, as well as the uninstall shortcut.
As with Lollipop, Marshmallow has a two-part notifications/Quick Settings area. A single swipe down from the top of the home screen will pull down the notifications shade, where your expandable notifications live. A second swipe down on this screen, or a two-finger swipe down from the home screen, will take you to the Quick Settings panel.
The notifications area displays app notifications, which can be expanded or tapped to launch the full app. This area also shows persistent system notifications, such as when a Bluetooth device is connected or other system features are enabled. The dismiss all button now faces the other direction compared to Lollipop, but it does the same thing.
The Quick Settings area displays your screen brightness slider as well as toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile data and so on. As with Lollipop, these features can either be toggled on or off with a tap, or accessed further through a Quick Settings mini-menu or the relevant area of the full settings menu.
At the top of both the notifications shade and the Quick Settings area is a kind of status bar area. In the notifications shade you’ll see the time and date, various status bar icons and the icon for switching users. Oddly, tapping this in the notification shade simply opens up the Quick Settings area where it must be tapped again to change users or enter Guest Mode.
In the Quick Settings area, this area expands a little further, displaying battery percentage, carrier information and a shortcut to the settings menu. Long pressing the settings cog icon will give you access to the System UI Tuner.
