There is still much speculation surrounding the release of the next major Android version – 6.0 Marshmallow – but we’ve been hearing some encouraging rumors about certain lines of devices. More specifically, owners of the HTC One M8 and M9 are likely going to get their hands on the new major update, even though their devices will probably not get Android 5.1.1 before that. According to reports, the company is jumping straight to the next major update instead of wasting energy on this version, so fans are going to have to wait a little longer but they will get good benefits out of that in the end.
We still don’t know when the new Android 6.0 is rolling out, and most rumors put its release date around the middle of October. Google haven’t said anything specific, and neither have any of the manufacturers that focus on their operating system, but we’re likely going to hear more information over the next couple of weeks if the release really is planned for that period.
This is good news for owners of HTC’s flagship devices, as they have been waiting for a new Android version for some time now after their updates ended with Android 5.1. According to reports, owners of the devices shouldn’t expect to get another Android update before the release of Android 6.0, but we don’t know if the company has really canceled all of their plans for those intermittent releases.
It’s also worth noting that some devices in the company’s line-up are still stuck on versions below even 5.0, and if they are also upgraded to Android 6.0 this should definitely be fantastic news for all of their owners, especially those who’ve been excited to try out some new major features of the operating system but don’t want to risk going with a rooting procedure at the same time.
That’s of course always an option – people have access to procedures for installing customized versions of the operating system on their devices, and this has been available for a long time in the Android ecosystem. However, “rooting”, as it’s commonly known, also carries some risks and is generally only recommended for more experienced users who know what they’re doing and understand how their devices work.
Meanwhile, some people have been wondering if the Android 6.0 update is going to go over well for some devices running older versions of the operating system. If Google really are planning this as a more massive rollout that affects a wider range of devices, this can easily lead to some problems for them in the near future.
Because some of the more recent versions of Android were obviously not tested properly before being pushed out to some specific devices, leading to a lot of disappointment within the community. Google’s own Nexus 7 is pretty much unusable after upgrading it to Android 5.0 and above, for example, according to many reports, and Google should definitely be more careful about which devices receive their approval for being upgraded to a newer Android version.
We don’t know if the company actually conducts any compatibility tests before releasing those updates, but on the other hand HTC and other companies are known for more precisely fine-tuning Android to their own specific devices. That’s why these manufacturers sometimes fall behind the main update line and don’t manage to keep up with the major Android releases, but fans have generally gotten used to this situation.