Google officially launch their newest Android operating system (OS) called Android M, at their developer conference, Google I/O 2015. Google did not reveal what the “M” stands for, but they gave extensive details on features that they will introduce for their new Android OS.
As cited by The Verge, Google stated that Android M will have several unique features and performance improvements. However Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Google product said that the company has gone back to the basics, and focuses on better platform quality.
According to Dave Burke, vice president engineering Google, they have been monitoring every single additions made by third party vendors to Android OS, and fold those ideas to the OS’ core system.
One of the significant changes Google made on Android M, is now users will be able to approve or deny security permissions on Android apps, such as camera or GPS. This is a critical improvement because current version of Android security system automatically approves all apps access when its done installing.
Android M supports USB Type-C, as being used by Apple in their newest MacBook. This type of USB allows users to charge other devices with their Android phone, and it improves charging time to full power.
Google has integrated Android Pay to this OS, replacing the old Google Wallet. Android Pay utilise NFC connection and Host Card Emulation to process payment. For security feature, Android Pay supports fingerprint sensor, as previously rumoured and featured in Samsung Galaxy S6.
Google realised the importance of long battery life, therefore they introduced “Doze” to help prolong battery life. Doze eliminates background processes when it detects inactivity in a certain period of time, thus extends battery life in standby time up to two times longer than the current OS, Android Lollipop.
The recently released Android M is still in pre-release preview version that can be used for developers for tests in Nexus 5, 6, 9, and player. The Alpha release will be available in the coming months.
