News & Reviews:   android marshmallow

A start-up company out of Beijing wants everyone to have a VR experience without breaking the bank. While other mobile VR goggles needs a smartphone to work in tandem with the headset, the Pico Neo is a standalone device that itself is an Android device running Marshmallow without the need of any additional hardware.  

While it was announced last year in 2015, it looks like ASUS are confirming that a number of devices will be getting the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update by Q2 of 2016. New additions since previously include the ZenFone Zoom and Max but it also appears that certain ASUS ZenUI apps like ASUS Messenger, ASUS Mail and ASUS Calender will be replaced by their Google apps as the default apps. You can redownload these apps and install them with a factory reset after the update though. 

• PadFone S PF500KL
• Zenfone 2 - ZE550ML and ZE551ML
• Zenfone 2 Deluxe ZE551ML
• ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition (ZE551ML)
• ZenFone 2 Laser - ZE500KG,  ZE500KL, ZE550KL, ZE600KL, and  ZE601KL
• ZenFone Selfie ZD551KL
• ZenFone Max (ZC550KL)
• ZenFone Zoom (ZX551ML)

So aside from the official ASUS and OnePlus Android 6.0 Marshmallow updates (along with the speculated Samsung Galaxy ones too), Google and LG have also confirmed the update is coming soon too for the world’s first Android wearable that has cellular connectivity the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition LTE. Marshmallow will be available eventually to other smartwatches (must be API 22) as well, including the Samsung Gear Live and LG G Watch. 

There are couple of new features from Marshmallow for the smartwatches, which includes an app permission model, -round and -notround resource qualifiers, speaker support, a support boost for Intel x86 processors and an updated emulator. If you cannot wait for the update to come, there’s an Android Wear SDK (API 23) available for download. Google stated the over-the-air update doesn’t have a date set yet, but it’s likely to come live next year.

With the recent Android 6.0 Marshmallow update on Samsung Galaxy rumour, ASUS and OnePlus have also announced their own Android 6.0 Marshmallow update in the coming weeks (or months). There are no specific Malaysia release dates yet, but rest assured the updates are official by the two companies. Check out the list of phones that are getting some tasty marshmallow updates in this article.

So apparently, there's a leaked image of showing various Samsung Galaxy models to be updated with Android Marshmallow. Similarly to Marvel Studio Cinematic Phase plans, the image are showing 2 phase plans of which model will be updated first. There's also a third phase, but as of now there are no plans yet and it will only commence after initial testing (same goes to the n/a status below).

While we recently reported that the Huawei honor 7 and a number of Huawei and Honor smartphones are going to receive the Android 6.0 Marshmallow update, new reports indicate that the honor 7, 6 Plus, 6, 4X and 4C could get said update as soon as February 2016. This rumour comes courtesy of an Honor India tweet, so it is likely going to be official. No word yet on the Huawei smartphones but we could see said updates around that time as well.

Android users who have the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow patch can now make purchases (yes, purchase) with fingerprint authentication in the all new Google Play Store. This includes the LG Nexus 5X, Huawei’s Nexus 6P and Honor 7, the LEAGOO Elite 1, or basically any handset that’s getting the Marshmallow (see the complete list). The finger authentication is a part of the revamped Google Play Store, and it’s very likely to be more expansive than this feature is in iOS with many third-party program supports.

According to the Sony Xperia Blog, Sony will update a number of devices right up to Android 6.0 Marshmallow without requiring users to download the Android 5.1 Lollipop update first. Unfortunately, there is no mention of any Malaysia release dates or any specific dates as to when each Xperia device will be getting said update. We expect said updates to come in the next few months but while you wait, check out the list below to see if your Sony Xperia device is listed (Dual SIM devices are also included where possible).

• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
• Sony Xperia C4
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
• Sony Xperia M5
• Sony Xperia Z3+
• Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet

According to some leaked roadmaps, certain Huawei and Honor smartphones should be getting their Android 6.0 Marshmallow updates. Of course, they'll all be using EMUI so we expect the current EMUI 3.1 to get an upgrade as well. No Malaysia release dates just yet but rumours indicate that the builds will start being made in November, so you can probably expect updates to appear either the end of the year or in 2016. For now, you can check out the lists below to find out if your Huawei or Honor device will be getting an Android 6.0 Marshmallow update.

• Huawei P8
• Huawei Mate 7
• Huawei Mate S
• Huawei P8 Youth Edition
• Huawei P8 Max
• Maimang 4 (Huawei G8 in China)
• Huawei G7 Plus
• Huawei G7
• Honor 7
• Honor 7i
• Honor 6 Plus
• Honor 6
• Honor X2
• Honor 4X
• Honor Play 4C

After months of guessing the upcoming Android M name, Google has made it official by putting up an Android statue holding a Marshmallow outside of the building. Previously, Android 5.0 was codenamed L and eventually called Lollipop. It turns out when Android 6.0 comes out later this year, it will likely be called Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The Android 6.0 SDK is currently available for developers looking to update while the final Developer Preview is also available for download. New features expected to come with Android MarshMallow include a Doze feature that will induce a deeper sleep during standby therefore improving battery life. Fingerprint scanning will also be built into the operating system along with a new permissions model for apps management. No Malaysia release dates for when Android 6.0 Marshmallow is coming for all of the various Malaysian smartphones but such updates will likely take time, with a probable release sometime at the end of the year. In related news, Google's Project Ara modular smartphone has been delayed to 2016.