For those who are hoping that Google will call its new Android M operating system after their favorite desserts like milkshake, macaroons, or mango cheesecake, they're in for a little disappointment. The tech behemoth has just announced that the next version of the mobile OS will be called "Marshmallow."
The company has physically unveiled the new moniker by displaying an Android statue holding a big marshmallow at the lawn outside Building 44 of its Mountain View, California headquarters. It has garnered more attention online as Dave Burke, Android's vice president of engineering, posted a cute photo (see above) of the green robot with the sweet treat via his Twitter account earlier today.
Google initially revealed its plans of launching Android M back in May when it teased about the OS during the company's annual I/O event. At the time, the new OS is said to deliver improvements like an updated user interface, support for Android Pay, volume control changes, and sleep mode battery management, among others.
Now, for Android fanatics who are still gushing about the new name, they may now take their excitement to the next level as Google also revealed that the software version is actually Android 6.0 Marshmallow. That's different from the previously speculated Android 5.2 version.
The reveal comes in the form of an Android 6.0 Developer Preview published by Google on Monday. This software development kit (SDK) will allow developers to update several Nexus devices to the latest OS. Those include the 5-inch Nexus 6 made by LG, the 6-inch Nexus 6 phablet manufactured by HTC, and the 9-inch Nexus 9 tablet made by HTC in cooperation with Google. Aside from those mobile devices, the Nexus Player made by Asus for the Android TV is also included in the SDK roster.
Jamal Eason, an Android's Product Manager, mentioned in an official blog post, "With the Android 6.0 SDK you have access to the final Android APIs and the latest build tools so that you can target API 23."
The said SDK, which can be downloaded here, can be used to upgrade the abovementioned Nexus devices to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It is released so developers can test compatible Android M apps and subsequently released them on the Play Store.
It is worth noting that this published Android M software are only intended for developers and not for the consumption of the ordinary user. An official, over-the-air release of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow is expected to be out soon to various devices considering that Google has already given out preview images of the new software.
