Android M release announced

Google has revealed the next version of its popular Android mobile operating system, which it is calling the “M release”.

Dave Burke, the head of Android engineering at Google, went through some of the new features of the operating system on 28 May at Google I/O, the search giant’s conference for developers.

A developer preview of Android’s M release will be available immediately, with its public release expected to follow in Q3 2015.

Burke said the central theme of M is to improve the core user experience of Android, and highlighted the following 8 changes coming to M:

1  App permissions – Number of permissions decreased to 8. Apps will ask you permission the first time it tries to use a feature, rather than during installation.

2  Web browsing – Chrome custom tabs lets developers include the browser in their app without having to build in webview. Users can access saved passwords, autofill, and all Chrome’s other features.

3  Linking to apps – Verified links introduced which will automatically route to correct apps (e.g. Twitter links to the Twitter app) without first displaying the disambiguation dialog.
Android pay – Standardise support for fingerprint scanners.

4  Doze – Trading off “app freshness” for battery life by having Android’s background sync back off exponentially when a device has been inactive for long periods.

5  USB Type C – Support for the new reversible USB plug standard, as well as the ability to act as a power/charge source.
6  Word selection – Better word selection for copy and paste.

7  Volume controls – You can get a drop-down to control different volume levels, and the ability to properly silence devices.