While the mobile industry has known about the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow for quite some time, Google has only recently released the OS officially along with its two new Nexus devices, the LG Nexus 5X and Huawei Nexus 6P.
Owners of handsets made by other companies have long been wondering when their devices will be upgraded to Android M. Now, thanks to a recently leaked update roadmap, Samsung Galaxy users can check out when the new OS will arrive at their smartphones and phablets.
The said roadmap (see below) was actually an internal document shared by TimesNews UK. It is an update guide that shows a list of models made by the South Korean tech giant along with corresponding estimated dates of arrival (ETA) of the Marshmallow upgrade.
The document identifies two phases detailing when Samsung intends to roll out the new software. The first phase understandably includes recent models such as the Galaxy Note 5 (SM-N920G) and Galaxy S6 Edge+ (SM-N928G). Both units are expected to receive the update next month.
Samsung released the Galaxy S6 (SM-G920I) and Galaxy S6 Edge (SM-G925I) earlier this year. The leaked guide shows that these handsets are approved to get Android M in January 2016.
Models released last year such as the Galaxy Note 4 (SM-910G), Galaxy Note Edge (SM-915G), Galaxy S5 (SM-G900G) and Galaxy Alpha (SM-G850Y) are also listed under phase one. The first two models' Marshmallow ETA are set in February 2016 while the latter two are given a "waiting approval" status.
The Samsung devices enumerated for the second phase are these year's Galaxy A8, Galaxy A7, Galaxy E7, Galaxy E5, and last year's Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3. All of these models are still queued for approval, and the dates of availability for the Android 6.0 upgrade have not been given.
A third phase is also apparently in place that is indicated for the rest of the Samsung Galaxy handsets not mentioned in the first two phases. A note at the bottom of the roadmap says that phase 3 will begin following a so-called "Initial Testing."
Some of the notable features that Android 6.0 Marshmallow will carry over includes "Doze," a battery management tool that recognizes when the phone is idle and disables background apps. It puts the device into a deep sleep mode, thereby increasing its standby time. Another feature called, "Google Now On Tap" will provide users contextual search results, depending on what they see on their smartphone or tablet screens.
