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Android M Is Officially Android 6.0 Marshmallow

 & Chloe Albanesius Executive Editor, News

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Google's next version of Android will be known as Marshmallow.

Google today confirmed that it has selected the sugary treat as the next nickname for Android 6.0. At its I/O developer conference in May, the search giant announced only that "Android M" would be coming soon, but now the name is official. The Android statue collection at Google headquarters also got a new addition today: a green android clutching a marshmallow.

Google today also revealed the official Android 6.0 SDK and opened Google Play for publishing Android Marshmallow apps. Download it via Android Studio.

"With the Android 6.0 SDK you have access to the final Android APIs and the latest build tools so that you can target API 23," Google said in a blog post.

Google also updated the Android Support Library to v23, which "makes it easier to integrate many of the new platform APIs, such as permissions and fingerprint support, in a backwards-compatible manner."

Developers can try it out on Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player, which will receive an over-the-air (OTA) update over the next few days.

The first devices to get Android Marshmallow will probably be Google's next-gen Nexus devices. Over the weekend, images of what appears to be the LG Nexus phone appeared on Twitter. Huawei is reportedly also making a Nexus phone.

The news comes shortly after OpenSignal found that there are at least 24,093 distinct Android devices in the wild, which is up from 18,796 last year.

About Our Expert

Chloe Albanesius

Chloe Albanesius

Executive Editor, News

My Experience

I started out covering tech policy in DC for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag's news coverage.

My Areas of Expertise

Getting my start in DC means I still have a soft spot for tech policy; Congressional hearings can sometimes be as entertaining as a Bravo reality show, for better or worse. But PCMag is all about the technology we use every day, as well as keeping an eye out for the trends that will shape the industry in the years ahead (or flop on arrival). I've covered the rise of social media, the iOS vs. Android wars, the cord-cutting revolution that's now left us with hefty streaming bills, and the effort to stuff artificial intelligence into every product you could imagine. This job has taken me to CES in Vegas (one too many times), IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona. I also drove a Tesla 1,000 miles out west as part of our Best Mobile Networks project. Of late, my focus is on our hard-working team of reporters at PCMag, guiding and editing their robust coverage.

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