Samsung officially unleashes Marshmallow treats on Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge

15 February, 2016
Samsung officially confirmed the Marshmallow update for the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge is rolling out worldwide.

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  • D
  • AnonD-416928
  • 8mV
  • 15 Feb 2016

(yawn) ... finally! My LG G4 is on Marshmallow from October 30 last year. I can't really understand that horrible delay from Samsung. The complexity of TouchWiz is not a good explanation for me. I feel bad for Samsung users.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • m86
    • 15 Feb 2016

    Anonymous, 15 Feb 2016This guy is a perfect example of a human that capable of th... moreYou both are right, people who are begging for faster updates should go read Galaxy S5 discussions from about same date last year, just here on GsmArena :
    many and many posts about buggy Lollipop update mixed with posts of people asking for the update to come to their country and then a few pages later, regretting to have updated their phone..

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • m86
      • 15 Feb 2016

      Aussie Boy, 15 Feb 2016U think u awesome for posting long explanation why we shoul... moreWhat (big) company are you running yourself ? When, you will be CEO of something, your post like many from others will get some weight. Otherwise, if you aren't happy, there are other brands in smartphones world.

        • D
        • AnonD-206313
        • vbA
        • 15 Feb 2016

        I hope it comes to India soon, and there is some battery enhancements.

          • r
          • regs
          • swM
          • 15 Feb 2016

          Denied. No worldwide roll out. Just limited regions.

            • A
            • Aussie Boy
            • bJx
            • 15 Feb 2016

            U think u awesome for posting long explanation why we should wait. Shouldn't they start working on it faster and have the update sooner rather than later? All u said just an excuse to cover those couple months that it took Samsung to finally release the update of marshmallow. Believe me not many customers out there are patient enough to wait and if u running a company that charge that premium price for your products, sequentially your customers would expect the same excellent services. If u can't be faster than yr competitors, then eventually there would be no place less for u to run yr business or yr mouth. Of course no customers want buggy update, but at least they expect faster delivery process.

              • D
              • AnonD-476403
              • a4p
              • 15 Feb 2016

              AnonD-307714, 15 Feb 2016Don't be such a pleb. They have taken there time because... moreGood point bro

                • D
                • AnonD-137201
                • Pf4
                • 15 Feb 2016

                AnonD-501114, 15 Feb 2016When will the update reach the Indian models of galaxy s6 s... moreSame version here in Brazil...
                Don't expect it so soon...
                First the G920F and the Korean version, then, maybe the G920i one...

                  • S
                  • Say wut
                  • UD%
                  • 15 Feb 2016

                  Hey shamesung! No plans updating our note 4? Please don't do this to us!

                    • X
                    • XDDDD
                    • mg9
                    • 15 Feb 2016

                    Aussie Boy, 15 Feb 2016Why won't you leave it until September this year? Cause by ... moreYou have downs m82819

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • tue
                      • 15 Feb 2016

                      AnonD-307714, 15 Feb 2016Don't be such a pleb. They have taken there time because... moreThis guy is a perfect example of a human that capable of thinking far in the future. Android 6.0.0 is buggy anyway. I rather wait for cleaner and smoother version after the beta tester developed it. Look at android 5.0 update, how many did complained and asking for 5.0.1 or 5.1 right after updating to 5.0. For the guy buying an iphone 7, go ahead with a thief company that just got sued for 3d touch and buggy boot loop in iphones.

                        • D
                        • AnonD-491808
                        • teq
                        • 15 Feb 2016

                        Why Android Updates Are So Slow?

                        When Google releases a new version of the Android software, there are, essentially, three steps that must happen before the update will show up on your phone. First, the chip-makers must provide new "hooks," or code that allows the operating system to communicate with (and thus control) the hardware components. Because there are many different chipmakers within the Android ecosystem of devices, and each company has different chips that it makes, each one takes a different amount of time to develop. Typically, though, the chipmakers are able to deliver the new hooks within a month or two.

                        Then the software stack moves on to the manufacturers. Because each device is built with slightly different components, the new software must be custom-tailored for each phone or tablet. In other words, Samsung can't just apply its TouchWiz UI to Android OS and then push it to all of its devices. Plus, each wireless carrier has its own unique set of software requirements. That may include base-level functionality, and it may include carrier-specific apps. That's in addition to whatever customization the handset manufacturers are doing in terms of their third-party user interfaces. According to Samsung's Nick DiCarlo, it takes about six to eight weeks, on average, from when the company gets the OS update from Google to when it can deliver the finished version to the carrier. Small bug-fix updates will be much shorter. Bigger updates could be way longer.

                        The manufacturers' third-party UIs ("skins") get blamed more than anything for upgrade slowness, and it's easy to see why. After all, they are visually prominent and seem to be the only tangible difference from a Google Nexus phone, which typically launches with the latest Android version. But most of the work is actually fitting Google's new software to the hardware components. "It's not as simple as, if we didn't do customization, just downloading a ROM from Google. That wouldn't work," says HTC's Drew Bamford. "So, even if we did no customization, I'm not sure that the process would be much faster, to be honest."

                        So if not skins, what's the major delay? Don't look at the manufacturers.

                        The Big Hold-Up

                        Welcome to the wonderful world of carrier testing. The wireless carriers have to test not only every single new phone they plan to offer, but also every software update to every phone that they are already carrying. Simply put, they have to be certain that the phone will work on their network as advertized. How hard is that? Try mind-bogglingly.

                        "They've got limited resources, people, time, equipment," says Samsung's DiCarlo. "The test scopes for these, as the networks get more complex with CDMA, GSM, LTE, multiple bands, now getting into VoLTE next year, different regions of the network are made with different network providers, so they have to test in all the regions. So the network testing complexity is extraordinary."

                        Each carrier has a validation team. They do everything from drop tests for the hardware to benchmark tests against usability metrics. They take software through automated experiences to see if there is a slowdown somewhere. When they finally give TA (Technical Acceptance) they want to be sure that they're maintaining their standards. "We try to do capacity planning," says T-Mobile's Jason Young. "We look ahead to the year and we are setting projected TA (or Technical Acceptance) dates for devices 6-12 months in advance. Then we work backward from there." When they anticipate many device updates coming near each other they ask, "What device is more important for us to bring to market?" This prioritization is a sticky subject. According to DiCarlo:

                        "If you are a carrier and you're running a lab and you're supporting 30 or 40 phones at a time—and from their view, they're supporting hundreds of phones. Two years of contracts over many years, right?— Do they want to spend time testing the new hotness that's coming out at the beginning of Q4, or an OS update for a phone from two years ago?"

                        The carriers, after all, are in the business of selling you new devices to keep you hooked into their services. For the devices already sold, it makes sense to focus on the most popular devices first in order to keep the most people happy with the least amount of effort. It's simple economics: they get more bang for their buck that way. So how long does this take?

                        "I can tell you that when we release a new product to carriers, we can have it running in our labs for six months before it's released by the carrier," says HTC's Bamford. "It can take a long time." T-Mobile's Young confirmed that it is typically three to six months from the time they get the new software until it goes live. Simple addition, then, will tell you that it may be as much as nine months for that new software to make it to your device, and that's only if the manufacturers and carriers agree that it's worth devoting the time and resources to update it at all.

                        The Boogeyman

                        A lot of Android conspiracy theorists have come to the conclusion that manufacturers and/or carriers deliberately delay software upgrades to older devices in order to sell new ones. Of course, not a single person we spoke to would admit to that, despite our prodding. But what's actually happening isn't quite so cut and dried.

                        Why Android Updates Are So Slow

                        Again, it's all about prioritizing resources. Manufacturers have only so many employees, and they have to decide how best to use them. If setting them to work on applying a new update to older hardware makes them look good, they'll do it, but of course priority is given to new devices—the devices which are just about to launch, or which have recently launched and on which advertizing dollars are still being spent. And because network testing is so exhaustive, of course the carriers must prioritize, too, but different carriers will prioritize in different ways, depending on their current device lineup and what they have coming down the pipe.

                        According to Motorola's Punit Soni: "Some carriers say, ‘This update is really important to us, so as soon as you get it to us we're going to put it into the lab and devote all our resources to it'. Other say, ‘This is actually third or fourth in our queue, so we're going to have to wait a little bit until we can put it through our labs.'"

                        Via - gizmodo(2013)

                          • D
                          • AnonD-307714
                          • mDv
                          • 15 Feb 2016

                          Don't be such a pleb.

                          They have taken there time because they decided to do a beta test, which is a good thing. What would you rather, a buggy release of 6.0 or a cleaner, newer build of 6.0.1 that has been tested by others in a wider array of situations, thus you are not stuck on a buggy build until a new build could be compiled and distributed to all regions. Assuming they detect your bug in a reasonable amount of time.

                          Trust me, waiting is far better than a rushed release.that messes with my daily use device.

                          Think about what your saying before you write it.!

                            • A
                            • Aussie Boy
                            • bJx
                            • 15 Feb 2016

                            Why won't you leave it until September this year? Cause by that time, I will be getting iPhone 7. Wat a rubbish news!!!

                              • S
                              • SG N5
                              • Hku
                              • 15 Feb 2016

                              When I expect this update for my note 5?

                                • D
                                • AnonD-455755
                                • J1{
                                • 15 Feb 2016

                                And I'm here still waiting for it on Edge+...
                                What is Samsung thinking?
                                #notlikethis

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-501114
                                  • rKp
                                  • 15 Feb 2016

                                  When will the update reach the Indian models of galaxy s6 sm-920i???
                                  Please tell the exact dates

                                    • w
                                    • w1000i
                                    • pX7
                                    • 15 Feb 2016

                                    They are the most profitable android company and they are delaying Marshmallow too much.
                                    This way I dislike it.