Marshmallow was Google’s sixth major release of its Android operating system.
Codenamed ‘Android M’ during development, it was released in October 2015, with the latest version launched in July 2016.
The OS features improvements such as direct sharing between Android devices and fingerprint recognition.
The system-level support for fingerprint sensors enables better error reporting, better fingerprint enrolment experience, plus enumeration support for greater reliability.
What came first, Lollipop or Nougat?
Marshmallow was preceded by Android 5.0, nicknamed Lollipop. In June 2016, Google unveiled that the next generation of Android will be called Nougat.
Marshmallow was built to help save battery life in devices by making use of the sleep mode and an app standby feature.
The OS also had new APIs, improved security features, and a simplified user interface.
Marshmallow is not the first time Google adopts a name inspired by sweets having previously put out to the market OSs under the name of Cupcake, Froyo, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Lollipop. Google will not confirm why it names products after desserts.
