Here is Why We Are Excited About Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Android 6.0 Marshmallow is almost official, though we already have a good idea of what’s coming (Thanks to the preview). Google did a major Interface overhaul with Android 5.0 Lollipop, and that is one of the primary reasons for its popularity. After tasting Google’s Material design, going back to stock Android KitKat feels drastically primitive.

But we didn’t want an overhaul once again

A lot has been said about Android 6.0 Marshmallow being a minor upgrade and undeserving of a new version number (6.0) because of the minor enhancements it offer. But we don’t agree.

This is the upgrade we are rather enthusiastic about. After resolving the design issues with Lollipop, Google will now address several key issues and solve problems to enhance user experience in its latest Android update, and that’s something worth being excited about.

Changes like….

Right from the day Android 6.0 Marshmallow was announced, Google shared inkling of what lies ahead. Google Chrome for Android was soon updated with a ‘Search to tap’ feature, which allows users to search for stuff without navigating to another separate page. This was cleverly implemented and added much value for us and even re-established Google Chrome as the default browser on my Android phone.

“Often when we use our mobile phones, it’s for something fast in the moment. We see a food item we can’t identify, or hear a song lyric, and want to know more—quick answers to quick questions.”, notes Google in a blog post.

Thou Shalt Not Break thy Continuity

This is in fact the centralized Idea around which Android 6.0 Marshmallow will be tailored, and this is also what we are most excited about.

Google Now on Tap – Just long press the home button and Google Now will intuitively display cards related to whatever you are conversing about in Gmail or looking up in another App. Now that’s a treat for avid Google Now users (and everyone else too).

Custom Chrome Tabs – Custom Chrome Tabs allows developers to add web view on top of Android Apps. This means for browser related things, a chrome Window will open on top of the Android App, and you won’t have to open separate link in browser.

App Links – This allows developers to link other apps from their apps. This means, next time an  app wants to direct you to twitter, you won’t be directed to the inconvenient web view in your browser tab, but will directly switch to twitter app.

There is other stuff too..

There are numerous other changes, many of which have been implemented by other Android OEMs earlier, but if you are a stock Android lover, these will definitely impact your user experience in a positive way. Here is what’s coming.

With Android 6.0 Marshmallow you will finally get the auto rotate option for homescreen, you get granular control over what goes in your status bar and what permissions Apps get to exploit. You get new copy-paste menu, new storage menu, new RAM manager, new API for fingerprint scanner, adoptable storage and more.

Wrap-Up

With Android 6.0 Marshmallow, there are not many cosmetic changes, but Google tries to solve age old Android problems, and that is interesting to say the least. The official update will reportedly start rolling out starting 6^th, but unfortunately, going by Android fragmentation issues, it will take another year before this latest version of Andorid is readily available across all price ranges. We are however excited to experience and checkout how well Google Now on Tap, App links, and Custom chrome tab get implemented.