M is not for murder, it’s for Marshmallow, says Google

All the speculation about what the “M” stands for in Android M, Google’s next mobile operating system, can finally come to an end: it’s officially “Marshmallow." A Google developer tweeted a marshmallow-adorned Android statue to announce the news. Google first announced Android M at its annual developer conference back in May. A big focus in the new iteration seems to be making app permissions easier to understand. Google’s vice president of engineering Dave Burke said smartphone users will no longer have to agree to permissions they don’t want to.

Whether you like them straight out of the bag, roasted to a golden brown exterior with a molten center, or in fluff form, who doesn’t like marshmallows?

Product manager Jamal Eason

Android Marshmallow should be released in the next few months, but you can also sign up for a developer preview. The latest version includes enhancements including fingerprint sensors and an updated power-saving mode. Marshmallow also streamlines the "permissions” model for users to install and upgrade apps. Users running certain apps will not need to grant any permissions when they install or upgrade, and the applications instead request permissions as it needs them, according to Google.

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