Android Marshmallow Update: When Can I Get It?

Update: The Android Marshmallow update is out now for certain devices. It's just out for the Nexus 5, 6, 7 and 9 as well as the Nexus Player. LG is the first third-party manufacturer to force its update through and it's out now for those in Poland. Sadly the worldwide update timing is still under wraps. Read on for more details.

Android Mashmallow is here. There are battery life improvements, greater app permission controls, standardised support for fingerprint scanners, more granular volume controls, USB-C support and new Google Now features are all part of a mix that makes this an exciting upgrade for users. But is your phone actually going to get it?

Android Marshmallow's release date is more complicated than iOS. Remember now it has launched it doesn't necessarily mean you'll have instant access to it. In fact, you probably don't. It's down to device manufacturers and in some countries like the US carriers spend quite a bit of time with the new software before treating their phones and tablets to it.

If you own a Nexus device you're in luck as the software has landed there first, plus manufacturers like Motorola are generally better at getting it out quickly. But every other manufacturer is a little less predictable.

To make the rollout less of a mystery here's the latest - and constantly updated information - on when Android Marshmallow is likely to land on the various devices out there.

Google and Nexus

Google's Nexus devices are the first to get the Android Marshmallow upgrade. One of their biggest selling points is speedy updates and stock versions of Android. When the Nexus 5x and Nexus 6p arrive they'll be toting the software as well.

Google has started rolling out the update to the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7 (2013), Nexus 9, Nexus Player and the whole range of Android One smartphones.

Samsung

Samsung did a pretty good job of getting Android Lollipop on to its phones rapidly, so we'd expect to see it start appearing in major handsets like the Samsung Galaxy 6, Samsung Galaxy 6s Edge and samsung galaxy note 4 soon.

It turns out that the company's newest phones, Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Samsung Galaxy S6 edge plus, aren't shipping with Android Marshmallow, after all. So expect these phablets to be in line for the update, too.

The  Samsung Galaxy Alpha and older flagship devices like the  Samsung Galaxy S5, are likely to get the Android Marshmallow update too, though they may have to wait a little longer.

Anything older than the Samsung Galaxy S5 is a bit more up in the air as to if or when they'll get Android Marshmallow, but it's a distant possibility that the likes of the Samsung Galaxy s4 and Samsung Galaxy Note3 will get it.

Both of these ex-high-end phones were updated to Android Lollipop, but they are now two years old so it's not likely to be good news here.

As for tablets, the Samsung Galaxy TabS range has been updated to Android 5.0 and is recent enough that we'd expect an Android Marshmallow update. The Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 may well get an update too, but we're not optimistic about the chances of most other Samsung slates.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) is still on Android Kitkat for example, despite being relatively recent. It's possible that it will simply skip Lollipop and move straight to Android Marshmallow but there's nothing to suggest that's the case.

HTC

HTC tweeted out what phones will be getting the update, and it came pretty quickly - let's hope it's a similar affair for the actual release. Before the end of the year the HTC One M9 and HTC One M8 will see the release of the software.

It'll also be updating the HTC One M9+, HTC One E9, HTC One ME, HTC One E8, HTC One M8 EYE, HTC Butterfly 3, HTC Desire 826, HTC Desire 820 and HTC Desire 816. There's no official word on when it'll be coming though, it may be 2016 for all of those.

HTC started rolling out Android Lollipop to its flagships within 90 days of its arrival, so we could well be in for a similar time frame here. If that's the case it may start arriving sometime in December 2015.