Maybe you’ve heard that in Android 14, you can no longer install old apps built for Lollipop. Android 15 is coming soon and will also block apps targeting Marshmallow. Let’s hold back our tears and say goodbye to one of the best versions of Android in history, and some of the best apps and games that will ever run on the great robot baker in the sky.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow was launched nearly a decade ago on May 28, 2015, at that year’s Google I/O conference. The beta version was released on the same day, and the stable version was released first on Nexus phones and tablets in September. It first appeared on the operating system version distribution map in November – when Android 4.4 KitKat was still king and Lollipop had just passed the 20% share mark.
Version 6.0 brings features that we now take for granted. For example, it introduced native USB-C support, which has now become an industry standard (after some resistance and eventually giving in).
Another major new addition is fingerprint reader support. This replaced the simple pattern lock with a more secure system that not only unlocked your phone but also kept your funds safe in Android Pay (which later became Google Pay, and then Wallet).
Android 6.0 natively supports fingerprint readers
The new permissions model continues the security theme. Before, it was all or nothing—an app required access to certain features on your phone, and your only real choice was whether to install the app. With Marshmallow, the first time an app tries to perform something, you’ll be asked – Access your files? Place? microphone? You just click “no” and the app has to handle it.
Marshmallow introduces application permissions system
Android 6.0 also introduces new mechanisms to extend battery life. Doze is a new sleep state that changes what apps can do based on whether you’re actually operating your phone. If the phone is in your hand, the app needs to be responsive. If the phone sits idle on the nightstand, apps are throttled and only high-priority events get through.
Doze limits an app’s background activity and network access. Things like messengers are adversely affected by this, but they can ask for permission to stay active even if the rest of the phone is dozing off.
There is also a deeper sleep state, application standby. Android doesn’t really make a clear distinction between which apps are running and which ones aren’t, at least not like Windows, Linux, and macOS. This means that even if you don’t use an app regularly, it can shorten your battery life. In version 6.0, rarely used apps can be placed on standby, further limiting their functionality. Interacting with an app automatically returns it to its active state, so if everything works as expected, you won’t even notice that the app is in standby mode.
Flex Storage was a major change that was then reversed. It gives you the option to format the microSD card as part of the internal storage. This means you can no longer hot-plug it, but it removes some of the barriers around external storage. You can choose to move data to microSD, freeing up internal storage space. Only parts of a given application are moved, but these are usually the largest parts – i.e. game code remains in fast internal storage, and game assets (graphics, audio, etc.) can be stored in large external storage.
Today, we give the card an A2 rating, which guarantees minimum transfer and IOPS speeds, allowing it to be used as application storage. But how many phones still have a microSD slot? Android versions after Marshmallow have basically eliminated Flex Storage.
Next, Android 6.0 introduces the “Context Assistant.” Remember Google Now on Tap? This is a contextual assistant (“AI” wasn’t a buzzword in 2015). Context can be anything—photos, songs, emails, etc.—and you’ll get relevant information and quick access to search, navigation, sharing, social media, and more.
Google Now on Tap presents contextual information and actions
While Nexus devices were the first to ship with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, other manufacturers soon began announcing updates for select models in their lineups. Looking back at the operating system version distribution, Marshmallow broke the 1% mark in early 2016 and became the top version in June 2017. With the advent of Nougat, and the transition to version 7, it never gets past the 30% mark.
BTW, there is a way to sneak into older apps, but you’ll need to sideload it using ADB. We don’t think many people will go through this trouble. This means that essentially all Android users will no longer have access to apps last updated during the Marshmallow era.
Do you have any old apps you’re still using? What old games do you still like?