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A pretty nice addition to [the third developer preview of the OS formerly known as Android M] is granular control over the permissions [which] each and every app requires upon installing it, giving Android users "meaningful choice of control". Just like in iOS, apps in Android 6.0 Marshmallow will only [allow] you to grant them a certain permission immediately before the app needs it and not in bulk during the installation, [as was the case] in previous Android installments.
[...] Android 6.0 Marshmallow officially introduces API Level 23, which is one of the requirements to have app permissions that can be granted on demand. All Android apps need to be updated [by their developers] so that they support the brand new API0 Level 23 libraries in order to introduce the individual granular app permissions.
SiliconANGLE notes that 6.0 is also getting native fingerprint support, a new power-saving mode, and Android Pay.
They also note
Hardly anyone with an existing Android phone will ever get to use [6.0].
[...] Android-powered devices rely on the manufacturer to update the operating system and the reality is that it rarely happens.
To put it more crudely, the Android update process is f**ked.
[...] [As Android remains open source and free to use,] Google can't force manufacturers to come to the party in terms of upgrades [any] more than it can force manufacturers to stop skinning their Android installs with their own custom user interfaces and software.
Release of Android 6.0 is expected in 2015Q4.
Original Submission
(Score: 4, Insightful) by K_benzoate on Monday August 31 2015, @09:20AM
The state of Android security is abysmal. Most phones never get updated. They ship with a version of Android and that's what they have forever--which is usually a year or two when the consumer buys a new one because they're so bogged down with crap. That is, to me, criminally wasteful. Now you can get infected just by receiving an MMS message. Even Google's flagship phone the Nexus is vulnerable and remains unpatched.
If Google can't even keep their official Android phones current with security patches what hope do users of other devices have?
For all the restrictions and problems of Apple and iOS at least they get security mostly right. Patches are usually prompt and get pushed out to the majority of devices in a few days. The last thing I need in my life is yet another Linux computer that needs constant babying and attention--and that's what Android is.
Climate change is real and primarily caused by human activity.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2015, @09:29AM
"The last thing I need in my life is yet another Linux computer that needs constant babying and attention"
What do you mean? Linux computers do not need babying and attention.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Monday August 31 2015, @05:54PM
Indeed, while there are updates popping up multiple times a day, sometimes, you don't have to install them immediately, there's nothing stopping you from waiting until the end of the week. I'm sure some of the updates are that important, but most of them are fine if you wait a few days or a week before installation.
That's certainly not any more work than it would be on Windows versions prior to 10.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday August 31 2015, @09:34AM
The funny thing is that to transform a linux system into a windows -like upgrade hell they had to work a lot. Had they been lazier we would have gotten something like maemo.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by axsdenied on Monday August 31 2015, @09:53AM
Get real, everybody has bugs. Some take longer to fix...
For example Apple took 3 years to fix the FinFisher trojan. I am not sure if even Micro$oft was that bad in the early days of Windows.
And to correct you, google did release updates for its current nexus lineup (on 5th August the updates were being pushed to Nexus 5 and Nexus 6, the Galaxy S5, S6, S6 Edge, and Note Edge, the HTC One M7, One M8, One M9; LG Electronics G2, G3, G4; Sony Xperia Z2, Xperia Z3, Xperia Z4, Xperia Z3 Compact; and the Android One).
A further patches also have been released... so much for rushing things.
And to quote ARS:
"Nexus devices will receive regular monthly security updates. The updates will roll out for the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9, Nexus 10, and Nexus Player and include fixes for the libStageFright issues. Samsung reportedly introduced a revamped update process for many of the Android phones it sells."
Having a walled garden and full control certainly helps. But it is not google's problem that carriers don't give a crap about you and want you to get a new phone if you want updates.
And if you know what you are doing you will be running CM or something else that has already been patched for Stagefright as soon as google released the patches.
(Score: 2, Troll) by BasilBrush on Monday August 31 2015, @11:05AM
Get real, everybody has bugs. Some take longer to fix...
For example Apple took 3 years to fix the FinFisher trojan.
Pretty stupid to compare a phone OS with a desktop OS. The fact that you didn't compare Android with iOS is pretty revealing - and not in a good way for Android.
Do you work for Google?
Hurrah! Quoting works now!
(Score: 0, Troll) by axsdenied on Monday August 31 2015, @12:56PM
Working for google? Wow, we are getting personal now.
I know I should not feed the trolls but, for the record, I do not work for google. I have an android phone and an iPad. No interest to defend anybody but, while I agree with some of the stuff you said, some of it is just rubbish.
So you say that it is reasonable to fix a bug in desktop OS in 3 years but not in phone OS? WOW!!!
The example of 3 years was the most extreme example I know of. How about an IOS example:
"fixes an issue that prevented GPS accessories from providing location data"
That took "only" 3 months to fix (IOS 8.3 -> IOS 8.4).
Enough said.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Monday August 31 2015, @01:25PM
Hear Hear, I have no less than 3 sitting in drawers now that were abandoned by the carriers and the only updates to the OS they got was by me rooting them and putting on a third party ROM. That is why I have to give credit to BLU as that $100 quadcore I picked up (great phone BTW, good battery life, great screen, snappy performance) came with Jellybean but had KitKat sitting there waiting when I pressed the update button. And its not just Apple that gets updates right, the wife's Lumia seems to get updates pretty damned fast and according to the list MSFT posted recently should be updated to 10 in the first wave.
As for TFA...anybody want to bet it'll be just like now, where every app asks for everything by default? Without knowing exactly what permissions are needed by a particular app to do its job I have a feeling this really isn't going to be of much help. IMHO what would be of better use would be Google cracking down on devs not using the least possible permissions to get the job done, perhaps by either rewarding those that do with more views on the playstore or yanking off repeat offenders.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 2) by curunir_wolf on Monday August 31 2015, @06:28PM
As for TFA...anybody want to bet it'll be just like now, where every app asks for everything by default?
Well I thought that was the case until someone asked me to install LINE. It's a pretty long list of permissions - pretty sure LINE got them all.
I am a crackpot