Android M at Google I/O 2015: App permissions to Android Pay, all the new features

App Permissions: Long over-due, Android M will finally give user the ability to control what permissions an app gets access to. Essentially the problem with Android was that apps at the time of download would ask for a host of permissions and users had to say yes, else the app download was cancelled.

Now the app will prompt a user for permissions when it wants to use the camera or location, or even access contacts. Best part is that users can revoke an already-granted permission. Users now get easy access to manage all their app permissions in settings, like Apple gives to iOS users.

App links: According to Google’s official blogpost it is now easier link between apps.

The blogpost says that that a developer can “add an autoVerify attribute to your app manifest so that users can be linked deep into your native app without any disambiguation prompt.” What app links will do is that it will allow an app to be discovered easily and increase engagement.

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Battery Android M will have a new feature called doze. Doze will detect if the device has not been touched or moved for a long period of time and the device will then sleep and thus use less battery. According to Google, devices with Android M last up to two and a half times longer than Android L.

In addition to this, Android M will support USB Type C charger is coming to Android M, although Google has not given details of devices which will support these chargers.

Google Now on Tap: Users now don’t have to leave an app they want to search for something on Google Now, the voice-assistant in Android. According to Google, if a friend messages you about a new restaurant, you can then just ask Google Now for details, without leaving the app you are. Google Now will then locate all the details about the app.

Android Pay and Support for Fingerprint: Android Pay, Google’s answer to Apply Pay, will also be a part of Android M, although you will need an NFC enabled device to use the feature. Google says Android Pay is secure because it only uses a virtual card number during the transaction and not your real credit/debit card number. Android Pay will work at 700 partner-stores in the US including Macy’s, etc.

Google is also working with app developers to allow more of these to use Android Pay.

Android M will get FingerPrint Support as well. The API for Fingerprint will be available for developers as well and they can incorporate it into their app as well. Google says it will work “across a range of devices and sensors,” so it’s not clear how devices without fingerprint scanners will support this.

Android M has 6 new features. (Source: Google blog)

What Google did not confirm was the release date for Android M and the final name. On paper, Android M does not really offer anything radically new and Google has stuck with the Material Design element which we saw in Android Lollipop.

The biggest feature of Android M so far would be the App permissions, which is nothing radical if one were to look at Apple’s iOS or CyanogenMod OS which offer these features already.

Google Now on Tap sounds like the other interesting feature in Android M, given that it shows how Google plans to harness its voice-assistant to make real-time search faster and more meaningful on mobile. It could also pose a danger to many apps, since Now will start including app data as well and that would mean users don’t have to open an app to search for something, at least all the time.

With fingerprint scanner support and Android Pay, the issue is how many devices will support these. Given that a bulk of Android is driven by budget phones, many of which are unlikely to have NFC or even get an Android M update, there’s very little here for the budget user.