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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: 2) by curunir_wolf on Monday August 31 2015, @06:21PM
I've seen reports that early builds of "the OS formerly known as Android M" can successfully use the MPEG-2 hardware decoding (when available on the platform), and works with Android TV. I don't know how successful they thought it was going to be without it, but I hope that functionality makes it into the final build. There are some neat Android TV devices out there, most are missing what seems like essential features. Like Netflix. :/ Or being able to watch LiveTV without stuttering and artifacts. SiliconDust's road map for their devices and software is really going to need that functionality.
I don't expect to see any consumer devices with this functionality until mid-2016, but I can always build my own with a Pi 2 (and a purchase of the MPEG-2 license [raspberrypi.com]).
I am a crackpot