HTC’s flagship smartphone for 2014, the HTC One M8, will get an update to the upcoming Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Google’s latest mobile operating system when it rolls out in the next few weeks.
As early as June, Mo Versi, HTC US product manager, has confirmed in his Twitter account that the HTC One M8 will receive the Android M upgrade.
The statement came from him in the form of an answer to a query from an HTC One M8 user asking if the new Google OS will be rolled out to the device. Versi replied on the affirmative, details the Gospel Herald.
That is good news for the owners of HTC One M8 as it means that their smartphone can still stand toe-to-toe with the latest flagship smartphones of today, despite being more than a year-and-a-half old already.
Final developer preview
Google has already released the third and final developer preview of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow on August 17 and it was also the date when Google specifically revealed that the M on the new Android system is to be officially called as Marshmallow.
Just like in the past, Google made the Android 6.0 Marshmallow preview and its corresponding software development kit available to several Google Nexus devices first including the Nexus 5, the Nexus 6, the Nexus 9, and the Nexus Player.
It is expected that once developers are through with the testing of the new OS on the co-branded devices, each smartphone maker will begin the public roll out of the Android 6.0 Marshmallows on their respective Android devices.
As of this time, no date has been specified by any smartphone maker just yet but it is likely to follow suit after Google officially rolls out the new OS.
In addition to the Nexus devices, it is expected that, just like the rollout of the Android 5.0 Lollipop beginning in November last year, the handset makers that shall most likely lead the pack in the roll out of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow to their devices include Motorola, Samsung, LG, and HTC, while the rest will follow from there.
Android 5.1.1 Lollipop on the HTC flagship smartphones
While the Android 6.0 Marshmallow has already been confirmed for both the HTC One M9 and the HTC One M8, users are still wondering whether they will still get the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop before the new Google OS officially rolls out.
It has been previously reported that the HTC Sense 7 UI will be made available to HTC smartphones worldwide in August but up until today, the interface has yet to come to the HTC One M8, much to the disappointment of its users.
Officially, HTC has updated the HTC One M8 to Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, and according to latest reports, the device would no longer get the Android 5.1 Lollipop, which the HTC One M9 now enjoys.
There are also reports coming out that the HTC One M9 shall no longer get the latest firmware update, the Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, before the rollout of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and thus it follows that HTC One M8 shall not get the same firmware update, notes Neurogadget.
Meanwhile, HTC flagship smartphones have a Zoe camera mode that allows users to take a photo, capture a combo of burst shots, and a three-second video clip for advanced editing features in the Gallery such as sequence shot, always smile, and object removal.
While the app used to be one of the most common approaches to making quasi-GIFs on the HTC One M7 when it was introduced in 2013, the HTC One M8, the flagship smartphone of the Taiwanese smartphone maker in 2014, also had the Zoe camera mode when it hit the markets.
However, HTC expanded the brand into a social network of sort that it opened up to other hardware. As a result, Zeo’s original form started to disappear in its flagship devices.
In response to user clamors, HTC is bringing users back the ability to shoot Zoes in its camera app on its two popular smartphone lines – the HTC One M8 and the HTC Butterfly 2 – through a recent update.