As expected earlier at the on-going Google I/O conference Google has presented the new Android M mobile operating system. This is a preliminary announcement, though, and the new OS will be available this fall. In addition when Android M becomes commercially available, the operating system will have a different name, which is still unknown.
As with every new software version Android M brings a number of improvements and optimizations. The list of new features and functions is too long so we will focus on the important improvements only – Android M now has native support for fingerprint readers and the new mobile OS can also control how third-party applications communicate with the hardware. In case of need Android M can prohibit a certain app from accessing the phonebook, the camera or something else, which makes the OS both powerful and flexible. Starting now there’s also native software support for USB Type-C, optimized power usage and more. Chrome Custom Tabs is also a new and interesting feature – it allows apps to open a customized Chrome window on top of the active app and this will provide faster and more intuitive user experience when navigating between apps and the Internet. Moreover the new feature supports automatic sign-in, saved passwords, autofill and multi-process security.
Google M also boasts Android Pay, which is Google’s new mobile payments system that makes the checkout process faster and easier. In order to use it you will need a NFC-enabled smartphone with Android 4.4 KitKat or newer and that’s about it. Android Pay is supported by Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express as well as carriers such as Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. Then the new OS also brings an entirely new feature called Doze – it is there to improve device standby time by reducing unneeded background processes. Google claims that Doze can increase the device standby time by two times, which is an impressive feat. Even then Android M will be able to raise alarms or notify you of new messages when there’s need. Finally the new OS has better recognition of web links and improved decision making on which app should process requests for opening a web link.
Android M will be on the market in Q3 2015.
Source: Google