When is your phone getting Android 6.0 Marshmallow?

Google Nexus and Play Edition devices

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When Google debuted the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P, both of which shipped with the newest version of Marshmallow, Android 6.0.1, pre-installed, the search giant said that select Nexus smartphones, tablets, and set-top boxes would receive an update to Android 7.0 Nougat. It’s available now for the following devices:

• Nexus 6
• Nexus 9
• Nexus 5
• Nexus 7 (2013)
• Nexus Player

Google’s made the update available for download on the devices’ factory image page.

Unfortunately, neither Marshmallow nor Nougat will not make its way to the Nexus 4, the 2014 Nexus 7, or the Nexus 10. As such, if you’re the proud owner of any of those three devices and want some bleeding-edge Android goodness, you’ll have to turn to the rooting community and get your hands dirty… or consider trading up to a newer model.

There’s no word on whether all Google Play Edition (GPE) devices, among them the Moto G GPE, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 GPE, will receive the Marshmallow update. But some recently have. HTC’s M8 GPE received an upgrade earlier this year, in March.

Motorola

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Motorola is also known for its timely updates in recent years, so it’s not surprising to learn that the company brought Marshmallow to a swath of devices relatively soon after the operating system’s finalization. They included:

• 2015 Moto X Pure Edition
• 2015 Moto X Style
• 2015 Moto X Force
• 2015 Moto X Play
• 2014 Moto X Pure Edition
• 2014 Moto X
• 2015 Moto G
• 2015 Moto G Turbo Edition
• 2014 Moto G and Moto G with 4G LTE
• Droid Turbo
• Droid Turbo 2
• Droid Maxx
• Droid Maxx 2
• 2014 Moto Turbo

Some updates have been —  and still are — restricted by region. Only 2014 Moto X and 2015 Moto E models sold in Latin America, Canada, Europe, and Asia have received an upgrade to Marshmallow.

Motorola’s transition to Marshmallow is a little more involved most. Upgraded phones lose Moto Assist, the phone maker’s suite of accessibility tools, and Motorola Migrate, its data backup tool. And Motorola retired Motorola Connect for Chrome, a browser extension that forwarded SMS messages to your PC’s web browser.

Asus

In November 2015, Asus posted a list of smartphones that would make the jump to Marshmallow to its ZenTalk community message board. That list included:

• ZenFone 2
• ZenFone 2 Deluxe/Special Edition
• ZenFone 2 Laser (ZE500KG, ZE500KL, ZE550KL, ZE551KL, ZE600KL, ZE601KL)
• ZenFone Selfie
• ZenFone Max
• ZenFone Zoom

HTC

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In accordance with its 90-day update guarantee, HTC promised to upgrade a bevy of devices to Marshmallow. The devices it’s committed to upgrading include:

• One M9
• One M8
• One M8 Google Play Edition
• One M9+
• One E9
• One E9+
• One E8
• One ME
• One M8 EYE
• Butterfly 2
• Butterfly 3
• Desire 826
• Desire 820
• Desire 816

The One Mini, One Mini 2, and One M7 are among the phones that won’t be receiving Marshmallow — HTC said they “fall outside [the] lifecycle window for updates.”

Sony

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Sony has stepped up its Android upgrade game over the past several years, and Marshmallow is no exception. In all, the Japan-based electronics maker is in the process of updating a whopping 14 devices — a mix of phones, tablets, and phablets, some of which date back to as early as March 2014. They list includes:

• Xperia Z5
• Xperia Z5 Dual
• Xperia Z5 Compact
• Xperia Z5 Premium
• Xperia Z5 Premium Dual
• Xperia Z4 Tablet
• Xperia Z3+
• Xperia Z3+ Dual
• Xperia Z3
• Xperia Z3 Dual
• Xperia Z3 Compact
• Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
• Xperia Z2
• Xperia Z2 Tablet
• Xperia M5
• Xperia M5 Dual
• Xperia C5 Ultra
• Xperia C5 Ultra Dual
• Xperia M4 Aqua
• Xperia M4 Aqua Dual
• Xperia C4
• Xperia C4 Dual

Among the Sony devices that won’t be receiving upgrades are the Xperia Z1, Xperia Z1 Compact, Xperia Z Ultra, and Xperia Z.

Samsung

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Samsung announced a broad rollout of Marshmallow firmware in February of this year. The company declined to confirm which devices would receive the upgrade, but SamMobile managed to obtain an internal, preliminary list of eligible handsets. It includes:

• Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
• Galaxy S6 Edge
• Galaxy S6
• Galaxy S5 LTE-A
• Galaxy S5 Neo
• Galaxy S5
• Galaxy Note Edge
• Galaxy Note 5
• Galaxy Note 4
• Galaxy Alpha
• Galaxy Tab A
• Galaxy A8
• Galaxy A7
• Galaxy A5
• Galaxy A3
• Galaxy E7
• Galaxy E5

Samsung’s Marshmallow firmware ships with a new version of  TouchWiz, the smartphone maker’s proprietary overlay atop Android, and new features.

One addition is Samsung Internet 4.0, which sports a new “secret mode” that locks browsing history and bookmarks behind a passcode and fingerprint. When used in conjunction with Samsung’s Gear VR, it supports web browsing in virtual reality.

The Galaxy S6 Edge and S6 Edge Plus updates come with unique improvements all their own.

The edge panel, a swipe-in window that inhabits the outer rims of phones’ curved displays, has been slightly enlarged. It now fits twice as many apps (up to 10) as before.

The People Edge tool, a floating widget that provides quick access to your top five contacts, has been updated to include contact names as well as pictures. The upgraded Task Edge tool surfaces shortcuts to commonly used functions like editing a contact, composing a text message, and adding a new alarm. And a new Quick Tools menu contains utilities like a ruler, compass, and flashlight.

That’s not all that’s been tweaked. The Edge Handle, the fixed tab that opens the edge panel, can now be customized to your heart’s desire — you can adjust its placement, size, and transparency in the settings menu.

LG

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The majority of LG’s recent Android devices have been upgraded to Marshmallow. They include:

• LG V10
• G4
• LG G4 Stylo
• LG G Flex2
• G3

LG, like Motorola and Samsung, has baked a few additional improvements into its Marshmallow firmware. An improved Knock Code setting requires at least six taps and three different quarters.

And the company’s made user interface improvements, too. The auto-brightness screen will now adjust according to ambient conditions. The app settings screen has been simplified. And LG’s Qmemo and LG Bridge features have been renamed Capture+ and LG AirDrive, respectively.

Huawei

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Chinese phone maker Huawei announced its Marshmallow roadmap last year, and of its handsets were passed over. The devices it’s committed to upgrading include:

• Huawei P8
• P8 Lite
• P8 Youth Edition
• P8 Max
• G8 (Maimang 4)
• Mate 7
• Mate S
• Ascend Mate7
• Ascend P7
• Ascend G7
• G7 Plus
• Honor 7
• Honor 7i
• Honor 6
• Honor 6 Plus
• Honor 4C
• Honor 4X
• X2
• Play 4C
• MeidaPad X2

BlackBerry

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After months of beta testing, BlackBerry has finally begun updating its sole flagship Android phone, the Priv, to Marshmallow. It appears the wait was worth it: in tow with the update are not performance improvements and bug fixes, but an abundance of new features, too.

Several involve privacy and security. Marshmallow introduces the ability to toggle an app’s ability to access personal data permissions, and new notification controls show which apps have requested access to particular sensors and when an active phone call has been muted. Support for S/MIME delivers encrypted email, and media card encryption support secures your SD Card away from prying eyes.

In the user interface department, an enhanced keyboard app includes over 200 new and updated emojis and new keyboard gestures and better cursor control. Enhanced word prediction learns the numbers and names from your contacts, and anticipates your next word based on your finger position.

New apps join BlackBerry Hub, BlackBerry’s eponymous social media aggregation app, in Marshmallow. Now, messages from Skype, Slack, and Pinterest appear inline. And the BlackBerry Launcher’s gotten a fresh coat of paint: you can set a default home screen, delete a home screen, and remove apps more easily.

Finally, the update improves the capability of the Priv’s camera. On Marshmallow, it can record videos at 24fps, 4k, 1080p, or 720p; and it can capture slow-motion video at 120fps or 30fps.

OnePlus

OnePlus announced a Marshmallow update timeframe in November. The list of supported devices includes:

• OnePlus One
• OnePlus 2
• OnePlus 3
• OnePlus X

The OnePlus 3 shipped running Marshmallow. It’ll be updated to Nougat this month, first as a beta, ahead of a broader public release before the end of this year.

OnePlus’s personal touches in the Marshmallow update include unspecified enhancements to Shelf UI, the home screen launcher. New settings menus are in tow, plus two new applications: OnePlus Music Player and OnePlus Gallery.

OnePlus’s Marshmallow firmware is a little less straightforward than most. The OnePlus One received an update to Cyanogen OS 13 — the custom overlay with which it originally shipped — in Q1 2016, with a second, optional update that followed. OnePlus made available a “semi-official” build of Oxygen OS, the company’s new skin atop Android Marshmallow.

The OnePlus 2, meanwhile, received an upgrade to the Marshmallow-based Oxygen OS. It’ll be updated to Nougat in the coming months, the company said.

Lenovo

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Lenovo announced its Marshmallow upgrade schedule at a company event in China last year. Here’s the list of devices set to receive an update:

• K3 Note
• X3
• P1
• X3
• A7000
• A7000+
• P1
• Vibe S1

Lenovo completed its rollout of Marshmallow updates in July.