Android Muffin is Coming.

Android M is coming: here's what you need to know

Android 5.0 Lollipop might have only arrived to 10 percent of devices, but attention is already turning towards the next version, currently known as Android M (or Android 6.0). Expected to arrive with improved notification features, as well as Android TV and Android Auto support, here’s what we know so far about Android M. 

Android M features

Improved notifications

Notifications are always being improved upon because they are so frequently complained about. We want relevant notifications, which only appear when we need them, and currently, this is not an exact science.

Rumor has it that the next step Google is taking with notifications is to unify them across all platforms. A notification seen on your PC would not appear on your phone or tablet, for example. It’s early days, but we’re expecting some changes to the way notifications are both displayed and interacted with on Android M.  

Smart home

Android 5.0 Lollipop already focuses on consolidating everything Android has brought us thus far and makes attempts at providing a more stable and quality-assured platform.

On the broader front, the Smart Home will be an increasingly important feature of Android, with complete control over your connected devices at home and in the office via Nest and other third-party makers.

Security

With smartphones being increasingly used for, well... everything, security is something which grows ever-more important. Google recently introduced a "find my phone" feature to Chrome, and a "kill switch" option in Android 5.1 to make stolen phones useless, so look out for further security enhancements on Android M. 

Android Wear

With reports that the Apple Watch has already shipped one million units (more than Android Wear devices did in the whole of 2015), Google will be searching for a way to fight back. Android M will undoubtedly bring some improvements to how smart watches and smartphones interact, and probably with regard to notifications (once again) and voice input. 

We may even see some AI robots introduced on which Android M will be demoed... or perhaps I'm just getting a little carried away. Whatever happens, we're pretty sure Android M will be all about bringing Android to as many new frontiers as possible: from your pocket, to your wrist, to your car and home to who knows what else.

Android M release date

Android KitKat was around for roughly a year between Android Jelly Bean and Android Lollipop update, so it is possible that the Android M release date could be set for October or November 2015. Interestingly, Android M was recently spotted in the Google I/O 2015 schedule, but it was promptly removed (you can read the original story, as well as our thoughts on it, at the link).  

What this all means is that Android M could be unveiled at Google I/O 2015, and maybe even released in the fall or early winter alongside the rumored Nexus 5 (2015).

Android M name

Google typically names its Android versions after a sweet or candy. In chronological order, we've seen Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean, KitKat, and Lollipop. 

As for the Android M name, the most recent speculation suggests it will be Android Muffin, but other contenders are: Milky Bar, Milky Way, Marshmallow, M&Ms, Mud Cake, and Mars. We're tipping Android Marshmallow right now because it strikes us as a more dreamy, colorful, Candy Land-style name in-keeping with the Jelly Bean/Lollipop trend.  

So let;s wait & watch