Right now, anyone who has a newer Android device wants to know when Android Version 6.0 (also known as Android M or Marshmallow) will be released. So far, it has only come out on Google's own Nexus devices, and some of them have been reported to have received version 6.0.1. Now there is a rumor that version 6.1 will be released. This is what we know about Android 6.1 Release Date, even though it is mostly rumored.
Phone Arena reports that there is a rumor that Google will be working on cleaning up the revamped permissions system that was introduced with Android 6.0. Apparently, there are "security concerns surrounding apps with screen overlay permissions being able to trick users into agreeing to permissions that overreach".
Android 6.1 will apparently have a new feature with split screen functionality, and this has been confirmed by the Pixel C team themselves in the Ask me Anything (AMA) on Reddit. The Pixel C tablet is a Google device that is being developed in-house and was teased at the recent unveiling of the Nexus 5X and 6P at the end of last September. There wasn't really any elaboration as to what the Split Screen could be about, other than what it sounds. It sounds like something that will allow users to do multitasking well.
A feature like that could be worthy of a completely new point-zero number. It used to be that the Android would take a year to rise a few decimal points, like the change from Jelly Bean (version 4.2) to KitKat (version 4.4). In the past year, Android has risen from version 5.0 (also known as Android L or Lollipop) to 6.0 (Marshmallow).
It is possible that this split screen is in the works for "Android N". Very little has been mentioned of this next version of Android, as the current version has still not rolled out onto newer (less than two-year-old) devices.
If Android wants to follow that pattern of doing an "alphabet upgrade" to their operating system, then Android will announce its sweet treat nickname by Fall 2016. The pattern is that they usually unveil the next version of Android at the Google I/O Developer's Conference, which is usually in the summertime.
Given what we know of Google, it could be that version 6.1 could be the Android N with its split screen feature. If that is the case, it will be unveiled by this summer, with an official rollout in the fall. When that happens, users everywhere will have to wonder when it will be coming to their Android device, just like users of smartphones and tablets from Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony, and others are doing now.
