Category: Android Marshmallow

Because really, can we have enough gold phones?  Of course not!  If you have been waiting and hoping that the Japan-only gold Nexus 6P would be coming to America, your wait and hoping is over.  At CES 2016 during the Huawei event, they announced that the 6P would be available starting today from the Google Store and Best Buy in both a 32GB and 64GB variant.  Sorry, there is no 128GB version in gold.

As you probably know, Huawei build the Nexus 6P and based on their event today at CES, it has been a rousing success for them and for Google and many who have it have said it is the best Android phone they have ever used.

So how do you get your gold 6P?  There are two places and I’ve got links to both after the break.

It was widely expected that today would be the day that Google dropped the January security update for Nexus devices and that appears to be the case.  Google has updated the Factory Images page on their developer site, bringing the latest build of Android Marshmallow to a range of devices.  With the release of the images, users can expect the OTA updates to being shortly to the latest build of 6.0.1 while manufactures and carriers can start doing their testing to get updates out quickly.  It is likely we will see an update from HTC and T-Mobile drop for the One A9 and Nexus 6 respectively in the next two weeks.

The updated images are for all of the devices that were upgraded or released with Android Marshmallow.  Here is the list and the newest build number for each Nexus device.

• Pixel C:  6.0.1 (MXB48K)
• Nexus 6P:  6.0.1 (MMB29P)
• Nexus 5X:  6.0.1 (MMB29P)
• Nexus 6:  6.0.1 (MMB29S)
• Nexus Player: 6.0.1 (MMB29T)
• Nexus 9 LTE:  6.0.1 (MMB29S)
• Nexus 9 Wi-Fi:  6.0.1 (MMB29S)
• Nexus 5:  6.0.1 (MMB29S)
• Nexus 7 (2013) Wi-Fi: 6.0.1 (MMB29O)
• Nexus 7 (2013) LTE: 6.0.1 (MMB29O)

If you are comfortable with flashing your devices then you can download the files today and update immediately.  Otherwise you will need to wait for the OTA update.

The updates to devices with Android Marshmallow continues and the Moto X Pure Edition from 2014 is the latest to get it.  The news is certainly welcome for those waiting for it but keep in mind that this is for the unlocked variant of the phone only.  If you have one that is locked to a carrier, your wait will be a bit longer.  The update is a hefty 800+MB so be prepared for a rather lengthy upgrade from Lollipop.  As always,  I recommend that you have a backup of any important files or photos prior to you starting the update.  The update will come to owners as an OTA update and you should start seeing it anytime from today but it could take several days or even weeks for everyone to get it.  Manufactures, like Google themselves, tend to stagger these updates to their devices.

The good news is once you do get the update, you will have all the benefits of Marshmallow at your fingertips.

With Android Marshmallow being available now for a couple of months, there has been plenty written on its impressive list of highlight features. My review of the release covered most of those and I have also posted that I think Doze and App Sleep are the true killer features of the release.

But there is another feature that Android users have long wanted out of the platform that has come with Marshmallow: Native USB On-the-go (OTG) support. For those who aren’t familiar with OTG, it allows you to plug in a small adapter to your device and then read things like USB memory sticks, run a USB based keyboard or mouse as if your phone or tablet were a PC. It gives you the ability for example to transfer files from your Android tablet to a USB key to share with others.  In previous released of Android, OTG support was not inherently supported and effectively required that you have your device rooted even if your hardware technically supported it.  That, it seems for Nexus devices, has gone away.

That last phrase is key as I explore this with you.  Right now it appears that the only devices that this works on with Marshmallow are Nexus devices:  Nexus 5, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9 and Pixel C.  I can confirm that I was able to connect a USB drive and a mouse successfully to my Nexus 6 and Nexus 7 while I was equally able to connect both to a colleague who as the Nexus 6P and Nexus 9.  Based on information available, the Pixel C should have no problem supporting it either.  Technically the Nexus 5 does support it but there have been reports of challenges getting it to work.  At the end of the day, your mileage may vary so keep that in mind.  Importantly, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to try this out on your devices – especially if you have a non-Nexus device – to see if it work.

Good news from Sprint this morning for those of you who have an LG G4 on their network.  The Android Marshmallow update is rolling out to devices starting today and while it will be a phased, users should see the update in a matter of days.  The new build version from Sprint is LS991ZV9 and brings Marshmallow 6.0 to the G4 along with Sprint Global Roaming capabilities.

The good news is once again that the updates to Marshmallow appear to be taking far less time to roll out than Lollipop ever achieved and while some carriers are still dragging their feet on it (AT&T, I’m looking at you), they too are getting updates out much faster than before.  T-Mobile here in the US has probably been the best example of it.

There are some big benefits to for LG G4 owners who get the update including what I think is the killer feature of Marshmallow, Doze, along with some other nice new features.  You can read my review of Android Marshmallow to get the highlights of the release.

About a week ago Google released Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 for Nexus devices including the Nexus 6.  Today T-Mobile has begun rolling it out to customers with Nexus 6’s on their network via an OTA update.  There are a few notable changes in 6.0.1 which you can read about here but the bigger picture here is the speed at which T-Mobile got this update out to their customers.  I, along with countless others in the tech writing community, have harped on endlessly about how long it takes carriers to push out updates after Google releases them.  T-Mobile, for their part, is getting the job done and getting it done fast.  That will only benefit their customers who will have up-to-date software and the latest security fixes.  Contrast this with another major carrier here in the US, AT&T, who have still not pushed out Marshmallow 6.0 to their Nexus 6 customers.

But I digress…

Of particular importance to T-Mobile users, this update to Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 contains support for the carrier’s LTE Band 12, which will give better throughput in buildings and rural areas.  I have upgraded my unlocked Nexus 6 to 6.0.1 and can confirm through LTE Discovery that Band 12 is supported.