NEW YORK: The next major update to Google’s mobile operating system is called Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Dave Burke, Android’s VP of Engineering, took the wraps off the name via his Twitter account on Monday.
As has been the tradition, Google put a stop to speculation over the exact name of its upcoming Android update by placing a statue of a green droid holding the new dessert figurine at the lawn of its headquarters in Mountain View.
The company has also released the “near-final” SDK version of the new operating system for developers. The announcement page of the SDK also refers to the new Android operating system version as Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
“Whether you like them straight out of the bag, roasted to a golden brown exterior with a molten centre, or in fluff form, who doesn’t like marshmallows? We definitely like them,” wrote Jamal Eason, Product Manager, and Android in the blog post. “Since the launch of the M Developer Preview at Google I/O in May, we’ve enjoyed all of your participation and feedback. Today with the final Developer Preview update, we’re introducing the official Android 6.0 SDK and opening Google Play for publishing your apps that target the new API level 23 in Android Marshmallow.”
Unlike Android Lollipop, which released with a number of enticing features, the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update is largely aimed at delivering stability and performance improvements. However, the update will bring new features like Android Pay, Tap on Now, new app permissions model, built-in support for fingerprint scanner, as well as support for the USB Type-C standard. The new Android update also offers native support for the 64-bit ARMv8 architecture.
As per the SDK’s announcement page, Android Marshmallow will be Android v6.0, and will ship later this year. The company is rumoured to release two new Nexus smartphones at the sidelines of Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s official release. Earlier on Monday, we got our first purported glimpse at the LG-made new Nexus 5 smartphone.
