Key Android 6.0 “M” Features Expected to be Announced this May

One seemingly intentional mention of Android 6.0 on Google I/O schedule caught earlier in the month has been wildly shared all over the Internet. While taken down later, it was enough to spark curiosities in the tech industry about the upcoming Android OS offering. Here are a few of Android M features expected to be announced this end of May.

Android 6.0 features:

Later in May, Google is set to stage its annual Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco. Among various other announcements and updates, Android 6.0 “M” is expected to replace the current Android Lollipop. Lollipop brought in some major overhaul of the operating system making the base on Material Design. Simplistic, useful, and intuitive, Android 5.0 Lollipop has been liked and appreciated by a majority of users.

Reports coming in claim that Google has planned to release fresh functionalities and new features with the upcoming OS. Do note that this year won’t be seeing some major changes coming in the OS as the focus is shifted to functionality than the design.

Here are some of the Android 6.0 features that we might see coming from Moscone Center.

More Material Design:

Considering the amount of focus that Google has given to Material Design and looking at the I/O schedule, it is certain that the new design philosophy will again take the center with Android M release. A session on “Bringing Material Design to life on Android” assures that we will see increased and improved focus on the Design’s inclusion in Android.

Increased privacy control:

Last year with Lollipop release, we also saw Google emphasizing on improved privacy measures for the mobile OS. One feature rumored to come this year is greater user control over privacy. With this new privacy feature, users will be able to use applications without giving them all the permissions typically required by the apps, reported Bloomberg.

The new settings would give users the option to pick and choose what an app can access.

This will ensure that Android gets a step closer to the security level provided by iOS giving somewhat better control in the hands of the user.

Better integration of Voice Control:

Another of Android 6.0 features include a better integration of voice control. We have long seen the voice assistants trying to make the shift to a hands-free navigation of the mobile devices, but it hasn’t been successfully adapted by users. According to reports, Google is trying to make this shift with the new OS having increased focus on voice control.

The details on Google I/O schedule while not going into detail mention, “Your app, now available hands-free,” giving strong hints to a focus on the feature.

It is expected that Android M will enable developers to integrate voice actions in their own apps to help Google achieve that hands-free mobile experience.

Notifications, again!

There doesn’t seem to be a solution (yet) which can keep consumers happy about how and when notifications are received and displayed. Rumor suggests that we might see some sort of continuity on Android M with Google not displaying notifications which have been seen already on another Android device. Well, technically it’s not continuity which brings us to question when are we going to see a similarly powerful feature in Android?

Android 6.0 features a focus on Nearby:

Answering the continuity questions, Google is rumored to be working on a Nearby feature that would help Android devices to communicate with people, place and other nearby devices. It doesn’t sound like iOS’s Handoff feature but carries a focus on “Proximity-Based Communication.”

More bits and a set of cat eyes…

These were some of the most expected and talked about Android 6.0 features. You can also expect to see some mention of Android Wear as this year Google will try to put up some fight against Apple’s newly released Watch. Reports suggest that a good many minutes will also be invested on Google Auto, Google Wallet, and Smart Home along with a little on virtual reality. Remember that Cardboard stuff of 2014?

If you are interested to know what is Google planning to name its next baby, it’s anyone’s guess right now. As mentioned in earlier posts, I am strongly rooting for some delicious Marshmallows but certainly wouldn’t mind some M&Ms, Macarons or Milky Bars. Let’s just stay away from Mentos, please!