do you regret upgrading to Marshmallow ? why ?

[David Alfredo]

I upgraded twice to 6.0 and rolled back to 5.1.1, to me there's no tangible benefits, 5.1.1 is already good enough and 6.0.x is still immature and with bugs...

what's your experience ? do you regret upgrading too ?

 

[maclancer]

I have not use it yet but I saw people talking wonders about marshmallow over Lollipop.

 

[David Alfredo]

I have not use it yet but I saw people talking wonders about marshmallow over Lollipop.

which devices ? flagships ? daily drivers average devices ? is Marshmallow held back by lower-end hardware ? if so, how much compared to 5.1.1 ?

I know that's a lot of questions but hopefully we can have users sharing experiences here.

 

[LeoRex]

My main experiences with 6 come with the Nexus line... On other OEMS, you are often at the mercy of their development work since they replace a lot of the base code with their own stuff.

On my Nexus 6, even the previews ran great...

6.0 is a refinement of 5.1... A lot of the improvements were in the back end... Stuff like Doze, animation optimizations, new APIs that allow for things line On Tap, new app permission models, etc. It isn't the major ui overhaul like 5.0 was, so it's easy to think it's not a big change, but it most certainly is.

 

[Toltepeceno Delsur]

I think SD card management, ie adoptive mode, needs work. I do believe there is a difference with doze and if it were not for that I would not run it. If I have more problems I still may go back. I am running it on 2 devices.

 

[mwake4goten]

I think SD card management, ie adoptive mode, needs work. I do believe there is a difference with doze and if it were not for that I would not run it. If I have more problems I still may go back. I am running it on 2 devices.

Definitely better on my HTC One m8. Lollipop was a disaster, and actually took things backwards compared to kitkat...Marshmallow solved those issues restoring performance and stability that lollipop destroyed. There was a lot of negative noise about lollipop across all of the smart phone world, just check the forums for proof..marshmallow hasn't kicked up that kind of stink, from what I've seen...

 

[Toltepeceno Delsur]

Definitely better on my HTC One m8. Lollipop was a disaster, and actually took things backwards compared to kitkat...Marshmallow solved those issues restoring performance and stability that lollipop destroyed. There was a lot of negative noise about lollipop across all of the smart phone world, just check the forums for proof..marshmallow hasn't kicked up that kind of stink, from what I've seen...

I don't base my experience on what anyone else is saying, I am basing it on my experience on a moto x pure and an nvidia shield.

Lollipop shipped on both of those devices and the phone ran flawlessly. The shield had some problems but there are even more with marshmallow. The pure runs marshmallow pretty well but some apps would disappear in adoptive mode, fortunately 32 gb is enough to run it in portable mode.

Portable mode has gone backwards though as you cannot move any apps at all as you could in lollipop. With the shield I run it in adoptive mode but I have had even more apps disappear using it. If I let the system automatically move apps in adoptive mode it turns to crap. Again, if it were not for doze I would go back in a minute. I do see a difference with doze.

So I don't personally care what any forums say, just worried about the ones I am running. Hopefully there will be releases that tweak sdcard management some, but as it is I do not see android in my future unless they bring back the ability to move apps in portable mode. To me an sd card in portable mode with the ability to move apps is part of the draw, adoptive mode makes it like an iphone and there is no backing up to the sdcard because when the phone has problems there is no accessing the card. When my tablet went into a boot loop, I think because of the system automatically moving the wrong app, I had to erase phone data and the card was no longer recognized by the phone so I had to format on a pc, it still would not recognize it because it was windows fat32 so I had to format it to dos fat32 on my mac and then it was recognized. My step son just called me 2 days ago for the same thing. His moto g 2015 would not boot up, he had to reset data and then the phone would not recognize or format the card. I sent him a link to an app to format on his pc where the phone would recognize it. I just did mine on a mac as it was easy.

The point is I have always seen the sd card as a "rescue" disk with android and with adoptive mode it's not. Having everything backed up on the sdcard so that when something happens you can restore from there. Again, with mm in portable mode you cannot move any apps at all so if you need to do that only adoptive mode. There is no moving apps to the card and still having that rescue mode.

I understand some like it better, that's fine as not everyone is the same. I just came back after close to 2 years of trying iphone and while I do not like ios this was one of the reasons I like android better.

I'm not sure the percentage, but I know it's still a very small percentage that has marshmallow. If there does happen to be a stink it will probably be later on. I left after jellybean came out and came back right at the end of lollipop so I can't speak of lollipop's release, just the end and it was pretty good by then.

Just my opinion, if everyone else in the world is happy then good. I just have different needs I guess.

 

[David Alfredo]

Marshmallow (Google) just trying to kill SD support, not even Google apps such as Google Play Music can use the SD card in Marshmallow (edit for clarification, when SD card is formatted as "external storage" and you opt out of integrating your SD card with internal storage) To me there's no tangible benefits in M to justify moving from 5.1.1 if your device runs it good enough.

 

[ptkelly]

I'm just your naive Nexus 5 user. I went from 4.4 to 5 to 6. I like 6. I have no regrets for upgrading. I did have some regrets with 5 but 5.0.1 helped and I wasn't stuck on 5 for long.

 

[Aquila]

No, why would I regret it?

 

[LeoRex]

Marshmallow (Google) just trying to kill SD support, not even Google apps such as Google Play Music can use the SD card in Marshmallow, there's no tangible benefits in M to justify moving from 5.1.1 if your device runs it good enough.

Actually, there are quite a few... Doze is an excellent new addition. Granted, if you are a 'rolling stone gathers no moss' type of person, you won't see much benefit as Doze drops off with significant motion, but for a lot of people whose devices sit on a desk or table for a good portion for the day (or overnight), Doze does great. My Nexus 6 went from a constant 1-1.5%/h background load to 0.3% or 0.4%... lower idle load means more power for active usage... I effectively gained what amounts to an extra hour of screen time available to me (if needed) per day.

That's really just one... between the new, unfied and granular app permissions... a whole slew of new APIs that allow for much tighter app integration... there's a ton of new stuff under 6.0's hood. Don't let the minor UI overhaul (animation frame rates also improved) fool you into thinking it isn't worth the upgrade. Granted, I don't know what OEMs are going to do with M quite yet (probably nothing good), but most of the core stuff has been deemed untouchable by Google... so you won't see anyone breaking Doze, for instance.

 

[Aquila]

Marshmallow (Google) just trying to kill SD support, not even Google apps such as Google Play Music can use the SD card in Marshmallow, there's no tangible benefits in M to justify moving from 5.1.1 if your device runs it good enough.

Um... Google ADDED microSD card support to Marshmallow; they didn't kill it. 100% of apps can now use microSD card and they eliminated most of the performance issues (other than those caused by the slower speeds of the cards) and almost all security concerns with removable storage. You just said the opposite of what actually took place. Can you please clarify what you meant?

 

[David Alfredo]

I don't think "future benefits" (I will upgrade when they're actual, present-day benefits and not distant) are worth the troubles and issues regarding SD card/external storage and USB connectivity. I can live with 2% less of battery, my device already lasts 2-3 days with moderate usage. But not being able to access my SD contents or moving/copying/deleting files because M randomly decides to block the USB access is a pain, also not even Google seem how to fix (or maybe they simply don't want to fix) this random behavior since Google Play Music cannot download music to external storage anymore using M and it's been 3+ months now.

 

[David Alfredo]

Um... Google ADDED microSD card support to Marshmallow; they didn't kill it. 100% of apps can now use microSD card and they eliminated most of the performance issues (other than those caused by the slower speeds of the cards) and almost all security concerns with removable storage. You just said the opposite of what actually took place. Can you please clarify what you meant?

yes, as I explained above access to SD card is a pain in Marshmallow (using a computer) since it randomly stops showing contents in SD card even when formatted as "external, portable storage". Also some apps such as Google's own Play Music cannot download music to SD card, it's been 3-4 months now and there's no fix. Am I supposed to save those 8 GB of my music into internal storage and waste the space ? why ?

 

[Aquila]

yes, as I explained above access to SD card is a pain in Marshmallow (using a computer) since it randomly stops showing contents in SD card even when formatted as "external, portable storage". Also some apps such as Google's own Play Music cannot download music to SD card, it's been 3-4 months now and there's no fix. Am I supposed to save those 8 GB of my music into internal storage and waste the space ? why ?

Gotcha. From your other posts over the last few days, you are clearly aware of how Marshmallow fixed microSD cards by introducing adoptable storage. This is a contradiction you're creating by trying to use old pre-kitkat ideas of how to use the feature. If you are not using the feature as intended, then it would be much more efficient to remove the card from the device and put it directly in the PC (or via a USB dongle if you don't have a slot on your computer). Google Play Music is not going to get a "fix" because it is not broken. Google Play music downloads to internal storage AND the SD card almost interchangeably when the feature is being used correctly. Also, if I understand correctly, it will still play music that is on the Sd card, it just will not download to that location when adoptable storage is not being utilized.

 

[LeoRex]

You can't have both... either use the card as an SD card (portable) or integrate it into the system storage. If you choose the latter, you are pretty much sacrificing the ability to use the card as a removable SD card.... and more like storage that is hardwired to the board. The card gets formatted to ext4, a file system that a windows box can't even sniff at, and the data is encrypted to boot.

You can't have both.... i.e. use the card as portable storage and have the phone treat it as secured internal storage.

 

[David Alfredo]

Gotcha. From your other posts over the last few days, you are clearly aware of how Marshmallow fixed microSD cards by introducing adoptable storage. This is a contradiction you're creating by trying to use old pre-kitkat ideas of how to use the feature. If you are not using the feature as intended, then it would be much more efficient to remove the card from the device and put it directly in the PC (or via a USB dongle if you don't have a slot on your computer). Google Play Music is not going to get a "fix" because it is not broken. Google Play music downloads to internal storage AND the SD card almost interchangeably when the feature is being used correctly. Also, if I understand correctly, it will still play music that is on the Sd card, it just will not download to that location when adoptable storage is not being utilized.

yes but I don't want to use adoptable storage, I'm fine with apps using internal storage and the SD card just there for photos/videos/music, there's no reason to remove a feature from Lollipop where Google Play Music downloads your offline music to the SD card, now in M it's either using adoptable storage and never removing your SD card or download your music elsewhere and then move it to the SD card... this in case Marshmallow decides to show you the SD content and let you interact with it because every 2-3 days it randomly gets bugged/blocked and you have to delete external media/media data apps cache before USB connectivity works (MTP) again, a lot of trouble compared to 5.1.1. This is what I call "broken" about Marshmallow and SD cards and rightly so since in 5.1.1 it works every time without needing to fiddle with apps data and cache. Also, if Google Play Music is not going to download again in Marshmallow to an "external" SD card, why is the option still there to select the storage device ? it shouldn't be, it should be removed as a sign that offline music will be either be going into internal or adoptable storage (never removing that card from the device) but never to some SD card formatted as external storage, for that you need another way to download your music from your library, and that is broken and a step back compared to 5.1.1.

 

[David Alfredo]

You can't have both... either use the card as an SD card (portable) or integrate it into the system storage. If you choose the latter, you are pretty much sacrificing the ability to use the card as a removable SD card.... and more like storage that is hardwired to the board. The card gets formatted to ext4, a file system that a windows box can't even sniff at, and the data is encrypted to boot.

You can't have both.... i.e. use the card as portable storage and have the phone treat it as secured internal storage.

Lollipop 5.1.1 can have both, you can download your music directly from Google Play to your external SD card, why removing that feature from Marshmallow even if I decide that I don't want my SD card to be integrated within the internal storage ? if that's not a bug and Google is not fixing that then it's clearly a removed feature or some Marshmallow shortcoming, I have 8 GB of music I want to store on the SD card as in 5.1.1 and below, why would a newer version of Android prevent me from doing the same ? also as I said several times even when formatted as external storage the SD card is sometimes not visible in whatever device until you clear cache and data of external media and media system apps in settings. Is this not broken ? is this not a bug ? why do I need to use a card reader or some dongle, remove the back cover, take the SD card out and all the troubles when I can perfectly see the content of SD cards formatted as external storage in 5.1.1 immediately after connecting the device to the computer ? are you guys sure "this is the way it's supposed to work" ? if that is true then Google is going backwards.

Google can tell me about future APIs and apps integration and whatnot but the user experience I get with Marshmallow is way worse than with 5.1.1 (you love your "optimized" animations, I prefer having control of my SD card and actually having apps taking advantage of it and not the whole OS running slow on the card). It's a pain when we're not able to reliably connect our M devices with computers and move files around. Also we have this removed (or bug ?) feature that would let us have offline music downloaded into the external SD card, M is a downgrade in this regard and nothing *actual* / *present* in Marshmallow makes up for all this, not even Doze.

Also, downloading the music elsewhere and then moving to SD card will create duplicates in Google Play Music, this is not very elegant, are you guys sure this is "the way it's supposed to work" ? Because I do think it's a bug that with some SD card formatted as "external storage" Google Play Music still lets me select it as "storage device" but ultimately will never download to it, why not showing a warning "External SD card cannot be used to store offline music" why is the option still there ? 3+ months and still no change, I understand some will defend Google' decisions but this makes absolutely no sense.

 

[Almeuit]

also as I said several times even when formatted as external storage the SD card is sometimes not visible in whatever device until you clear cache and data of external media and media system apps in settings. Is this not broken ? is this not a bug ? You can tell me about future APIs and apps integration and whatnot but the user experience I get with Marshmallow and not being able to reliably connect my device with my computer and move files around / and the removed feature of having offline music downloaded into the external SD card is a shortcoming and nothing *actual* and *present* in Marshmallow makes up for this.

I am just curious do you mean music you download from GPM via the subscription or music you purchased via the play store?

 

[David Alfredo]

I am just curious do you mean music you download from GPM via the subscription or music you purchased via the play store?

neither, I'm not a subscriber / I never purchased music in GPM / GP Store, it's music I legally own, mostly physical CDs or digital MP3s/FLACs I upload all the time to Google Play Music from my computer using the official Google Music Manager application for Windows.This music can be streamed online from the Android device or download to the external SD card for offline listening (in Lollipop 5.1.1 and lower), but in Marshmallow you cannot do it anymore unless you decide to integrate your SD with internal storage and I don't need/want to, funny the option in Google Play Music is still there 3+ months after Marshmallow was sent out to first devices so you can select your SD card as storage device but it will never download to it (the option even appears when SD is in "external storage option"), it keeps working flawlessly in 5.1.1.

Are you serious when you call this "normal" and not a bug ? 3 months having an option there that does not work ? wouldn't that confuse users that decided to NOT use SD cards as adoptable storage and they are seeing how offline music is not downloading to SD card anymore ? seriously "not a bug" and "the way is meant to work" ? if that's true then Google is confusing users and straight lying in GPM settings since you cannot download music for offline listening anymore in case of SD cards formatted as "external, portable storage", it works with 5.1.1 and earlier, BUT NOT IN 6.0 / 6.0.1 it only causes confusion, so I don't believe the "it's the way it's meant to be" theory, in case it's true it's not a bug and then Google is having fun of their users for whatever reason, why having an option in your GPM app for 3+ months that won't work ? not even a warning "you need your SD card to be formatted as internal storage / adoptable mode" ? come on...