Android M: what to expect

If you are an avid fan of Android then surely you didn't miss the Google I/O 2015. Although it's a developers' conference, it still enjoys a bewildering amount of attention. The reason is pretty much straightforward: this is when Google shows off its upcoming features, services, and products that will make a fanboy like me say 'AWWWSOME!"

Out of all the announcements, Android M, the next iteration of Google's Android operating system, was undoubtedly the showstopper. It promises to bring with it a plethora of goodies that is bound to enhance the Android experience. Here's what can be expected from it.

Auto Backup and Restore for Apps

Android M will back up all app preferences and settings to the user's Google Drive account. This will make personalizing a new Android handset much easier since apps can be installed and configured automatically according to predetermined preferences upon signing in to Google Drive. Although each app will have a 25MB data cap, it will suffice for all but the likes of extreme data requirements such as offline SoundCloud tracks. To everyone's delight, the backup data will not count towards the Google Drive storage quota.

Improved Battery Life and Faster Charging

Utilizing motion detectors, a new feature called 'Doze' will cut back on background app activity and data usage when the phone has been inactive for some time while still not hampering important notifications such as messages, alarms etc. This has resulted in doubling a Nexus 9's battery life compared to Android Lollipop, according to Google. Android M will also bring support for USB 3.1 Type-C. This will not only allow for three to five times faster charging, but also let users charge other devices with their phones, essentially turning the phone into a portable power source.

Revamped Google Chrome and Chrome Custom Tabs

In addition to supporting Offline Mode, Chrome will modify the displayed contents based on network strength. Optimized web pages will load four times faster and use 80% fewer bytes. RAM usage will also decrease by up to 80MB. Moreover, a new feature called Chrome Custom Tabs will allow apps to launch a custom Chrome window instead of the app itself. These tabs support automatic sign-in, saved passwords, auto-fill, and multi-process security to assist the integration of the app and can be personalized to include app-specific features.

Mobile Payments

Having slightly lagged behind Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, Google will introduce its own mobile payment facility called Android Pay with Android M. Working on the same principle as the previous two, this feature will work with touch payment equipment terminals via NFC. According to Google, Android Pay will work with Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Discovery.

Fingerprint Support

As is already available on iPhones and Samsung handsets, Google is standardising support for a biometric fingerprint scanner. This will allow users to use fingerprints not only to access the phone but also to validate permissions on Google Play and Android Pay. And with native fingerprint support, more devices along with Google's own Nexus line can be expected to come with a fingerprint scanner.

Enhanced App Permissions

A major change in app permissions will be when and how apps ask for permission. Users no longer have to allow apps multiple permissions at the point of installation. Instead the app will ask for permission when it first requires access to a certain feature of the handset. Permissions will be classified into Location, Camera, Contacts, Phone, SMS, Calendar and Sensor. Although this will increase the number of times an app asks for permissions, it will vastly overcome the drawback of users having to allow the app hard-to-understand permissions off the bat.

Moreover, Android M will feature support for 4K resolution, Hotspot 2.0 on devices like Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 and improved support for Bluetooth Stylus.

Google has already made the Android M Developer Preview available for its Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player devices. The final version of the OS is set to launch in Q3 2015.