Updated: Android M release date: when can I get it?

Google, Samsung and HTC

Update: It looks like the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 won’t be getting Android M after all.

Android M is official and it’s set to bring a bevy of improvements to all manner of Google-powered phones.

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?

It doesn’t have a name yet, though internally it’s known as Android Macadamia Nut Cookie – but it’s well on the way to launching, with a Q3 release planned (likely in September according to the sources).

But do remember that when Android M does launch you won’t necessarily have instant access to it, as it’s down to device manufacturers to spend time with the new software before imbuing their phones and tablets with it.

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

Google and Nexus

Google’s Nexus devices will naturally be the first to get Android M. One of their biggest selling points is speedy updates and stock versions of Android.

There’s every chance Google will launch one or more new Nexus devices to showcase Android M, with Huawei rumoured to be behind one of them, so expect any new Nexus device this year to ship with it.

Not all existing Nexus devices will see the update on day one, but the developer preview is available now for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player, suggesting they’ll all get updated pretty soon after Android M rolls out.

However earlier Nexus devices may not get the update at all. It’s been rumoured that Google will institute a two year update guarantee with Android M and that it will be applied retrospectively, which would mean that while the Nexus 5 will get the update the older Nexus 4, both versions of the Nexus 7, the Nexus 10 and anything older still probably won’t.

However we’ve also heard a debunking of rumours that the Nexus 4, 7 and 10 will get Android M. The rumour originated from bits of code found in the older device’s update files which referenced Android M.

Case closed? Not quite, as it was found in code that gets pushed to all Nexus devices regardless of whether or not they are getting Android M. This means if you have a Nexus 4, Nexus 7 or a Nexus 10, we wouldn’t get our hopes up of getting Android M just yet.

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 S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 shortly after launch.

It’s possible that the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will even ship with Android M on board, but with an early September launch likely it will probably arrive slightly too soon for that. Still, it’s bound to be one of the first in line for an update.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha and older flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5 are likely to get the Android M 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 M, but it’s possible that the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will get it.

Both of these ex-high-end phones were updated to Android Lollipop, though they’ll both be more than two years old by the time Android M arrives, so we wouldn’t hold our breath.

As for tablets, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S range has been updated to Android 5.0 and is recent enough that we’d expect an Android M 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 M but there’s nothing to suggest that’s the case.

HTC

Jeff Gordon, HTC’s Senior Global Online Communications Manager, has already confirmed on Twitter that Android M will be coming to the HTC One M9 and HTC One M9 Plus.

That’s not particularly surprising but he did also say that more devices would be announced soon, so stay tuned.

No time frame was given but 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, in which case it may start arriving sometime in December 2015.

We’d expect most phones released by HTC in the last 18-24 months will ultimately get the update, especially high and mid-range ones. That means the HTC One M8, HTC One M8s and HTC Desire Eye are likely to get it among others. We wouldn’t totally count the HTC One Mini 2 out either, though it’s yet to get Android Lollipop which doesn’t bode well.

A question mark hangs over the HTC One M7 though, as while that’s still a great phone it’s also over two years old.

Sony, LG, Motorola, OnePlus, Huawei, Asus and ZTE

Sony

Sony hasn’t confirmed which devices will be getting Android M or when, but it seems a safe bet that the Sony Xperia Z3+, Sony Xperia Z3, Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet and Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact will all be in line for it along in all likelihood with recent lower end phones like the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua.

Slightly older devices like the Sony Xperia Z2 and Sony Xperia Z1 Compact will probably get it too. We’re less optimistic about anything earlier than that, but you never know, the Sony Xperia Z1 and Sony Xperia Z have both been upgraded to Android Lollipop after all.

Anything which isn’t already on Lollipop probably won’t get the update. That means devices like the Sony Xperia T3 and Sony Xperia E3 could be left out.

LG

LG has stated that it won’t be bringing Android 5.1 to the LG G3, which has led to speculation that it will jump straight to Android M, but we’ve heard nothing concrete to substantiate that. However we’d be surprised if LG abandoned its 2014 flagship though, so it’s believable.

The LG G4 will of course get Android M and it may do so quite quickly, as LG started rolling out its Lollipop updates soon after the final version of the software was available.

The rumoured LG G4 Pro may even launch with Android M depending on when it arrives, though if not that will likely get updated quite quickly.

We’d expect the LG G Flex 2, LG G4c and other fairly recent LG phones will get Android M eventually too, though they’ll probably have to wait longer than the G4. It’s even possible that the LG G2 will get it, but we wouldn’t count on it.

Motorola

As Motorola’s phones run a version of Android which is almost stock there tends to be an expectation that they’ll receive updates in a timely fashion and hopefully that will be the case here, with updates perhaps starting to arrive before the end of 2015, though Motorola hasn’t confirmed anything yet.

We’d expect the latest versions of the Moto X, Moto G and Moto E will all be first in line, as of course will the Moto X (2015) when that launches.

Earlier models of the X, G and E range may well get Android M ultimately too, though they may have to wait a little longer.

OnePlus

OnePlus eventually brought Android Lollipop to the OnePlus One, but it wasn’t very fast about it and with the OnePlus 2 on the way and a new OS just out the gates we wouldn’t be surprised if the company was a bit busy to be thinking about Android M just yet.

That said we expect some version of it will arrive on the OnePlus 2 and possibly even the OnePlus One eventually, but probably not until sometime in 2016.

Huawei

If you’ve got a Huawei device you might have quite a wait on your hands for Android M, as the majority of its devices are still on Android KitKat or earlier.

The Huawei P8, Huawei P8 Max and Honor 4X are probably among the most likely handsets to get the update, but even then it may take a while.

Asus

Asus is another company which often isn’t particularly speedy with its updates. The Zenfone 6, Zenfone 5 and Zenfone 4 are only just getting Android Lollipop for example, but nevertheless they are being updated, so we’d expect relatively recent Asus handsets like those ones and the Zenfone 2 will eventually see Android M.

ZTE

ZTE doesn’t always bother to update its phones, so if you have one you may have to make do without Android M, though the newer and higher profile it is the better your chances of getting the upcoming Android release.

So there’s a chance the ZTE Blade S6 will get the update, but the ZTE Blade V and ZTE Blade Q Mini for example probably won’t.