What's new in Android 6.0 Marshmallow

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Google unveiled the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P smartphones, along with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It is about the new products in the "marshmallow" that we will talk about.

Google Now on call in any app

The smart assistant has turned into a real superhero who will come to the rescue at the first call of the user. Now, no matter what application you are in and what you see on the screen, a long tap on the Home button launches an assistant that literally scans the contents of the screen and displays all the related information that it was able to detect and match.

How it works? For example, you are in a messenger, and your interlocutor mentioned the name of the film and the actress about whom you do not know anything.

In this case, Google Now will pull up all the key information.

It's the same with people's names, events, addresses. Have you been sent the name of the cafe where the meeting is scheduled? Google Now will show the establishment on the map. This is a completely new level of smart search, eliminating the need to enter queries with text or voice.

Fine-tune app permissions as needed

Previously, apps would ask for all the permissions they needed at once and did so just before installing or updating. It is not always easy to figure out a dozen queries, especially when some of the permissions are not obvious. Now everything will be different. The request for permission will come directly when the user accesses a function within the application that requires this permission.

For example, you have installed a messenger. First, as expected, a request will be made for access to the Internet so that there is a connection, as well as access to contacts in order to check the presence of people familiar to the user in the service. If the messenger supports voice communication, then a request to access the microphone will appear only when you try to make the first voice call. Video communication? Access to the camera will only be asked before the first video call. Etc. This is very important because the new format for working with permissions is much more transparent and understandable.

In addition, the new permission system allows you to grant access selectively. You can give the application those permissions that you think are appropriate, and everything that is not clear to you or seems unnecessary to you can be prohibited.

Working with fingerprints at the system level

Among smartphones and tablets on Android, there are already several models with a fingerprint scanner. Until the last moment, the developers had to independently and from scratch create their own software filling for the scanner. Google recognized the inevitability of this technology and implemented fingerprint reader support directly into the system.

Third-party developers will receive the required APIs to make it faster and easier to integrate the fingerprint reader into applications.

USB Type-C

The very moment when the need to replace the cables used causes not irritation, but sincere joy. Goodbye inconvenient Micro-B. Hello, comfortable reversible Type-C.

The new connector works exactly like the Lightning connector on the iPhone and iPad. It is symmetrical and can be connected either side. In addition to convenience, the new connector has a number of other advantages, but we will discuss them in more detail in a separate article.

Doze - advanced power saving mode

The battery is still the weakest point of any modern mobile device. Obviously, lithium-polymer solutions in their current form have reached the ceiling, and therefore the increase in the life of smartphones and tablets is solved by software.

Doze is a smart and thoughtful innovator that analyzes how the user works with the device from day to day, and adjusts the functionality of the system and applications based on the characteristics of human interaction with the device.

What does all this mean? For example, your tablet is idle for several hours every day, since you do not take it to work and only use it in the toilet in the morning and on the couch in the evening. During these hours, Doze will turn off all functions that consume energy to the maximum. Stop apps, turn off notifications, and so on.

Naturally, after coming out of the "coma" it will take a few seconds to update the content in the applications, but the operating time of the device, according to Google, can double.

Improved clipboard

The cut, copy, paste tool interface has received a significant improvement. Previously, options were located at the top of the screen, but now control menus appear directly above the selected content.

Chrome browser integration with other applications

You tap on some element in the application, you are suddenly thrown into the browser, after which you have to wait until the page is fully loaded. Enrages? Still would! Google decided to remedy the situation by adding the Chrome Custom Tabs feature. Now, if the application has an external link to a web page, Chrome will preload its content. The transition from the application to the browser will be instant, and you will no longer have to wait for the page content to load.

Total

Android 6.0 Marshmallow has barely changed in appearance, which is very good. Material Design has proven its convenience and attractiveness, and therefore it makes no sense to radically change it. To the delight of users, Google has focused on the technical component of the system, refining and improving the current capabilities, along the way, bringing in the missing functionality.

What do you think of Android 6.0 Marshmallow?