5 Reasons to Skip the Android M Beta Preview

An Android M update for most Android devices was confirmed late this year, possibly around October or November, and Google even released it early as a developer preview or beta for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9, and Nexus Player. While it’s tempting to update to the latest M version, there are a few reasons why you should skip the Android M developer preview.

Like last year, at the annual Google I/O developer conference in May, Google announced the next version of its mobile operating system that will replace Android 5.1 Lollipop, now called Android M, until the official release in the fall.

Naturally, most owners of Android smartphones and tablets or Nexus devices are extremely excited about the next version of Android. It has a lot to offer, improves and enhances the Lollipop experience, and some cool new features are coming. However, there are a few reasons why the Android M preview is worth skipping ahead to general release.

Android M aims to offer tons of new features, app permissions control, better security with native fingerprint sensor support, improved battery life and performance, Android Pay, and more, not to mention that more will likely be included when it launches later this year.

However, most of the new features coming to Android M this fall aren’t actually included in the developer preview Google released a few weeks ago, which doesn’t make the Android M update as compelling as last year’s Lollipop. Android 5.0 was the first major redesign in years, and with Android M, Google is improving it rather than changing everything. This means that those who flash Android M won’t have a very different experience, but will be exposed to an unstable operating system where many features are missing in action.

Doze is a new battery saver feature in Android M that makes the Nexus 5 last much longer, and tablets like the Nexus 9 have shown promising results with about 2x the standby battery life. Basically by napping and putting apps to sleep longer, waking the device less often, and keeping things procrastinating. It’s something Apple has been doing with iOS for years. If you have terrible Nexus 5 battery life, this might be the only reason worth trying now, otherwise you’d better wait for the official release.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Android M beta before we jump into why it’s worth the jump. After reading about what’s new and good about Android M, here’s why you should skip it.

Missing Features

The biggest reason we think it’s worth skipping the Android M beta or developer preview right now is the missing features. Some of the biggest aspects of the announcement were Android Pay, Google Now on Tap, and fingerprint support to unlock your device, shop and much more with your fingerprint. None of these are currently available in Android M beta.

Android Pay is not yet available and will be available with Android M, but it will not replace Google Wallet. So, for tap and pay, Google Wallet still works great. Second, Google Now on Tap, which seems to be one of the best features we’ve seen on Android in years, isn’t working right now either. Monthly updates that Google has promised for the Android M beta, which may add Now on Tap and other features later, but most of the major changes are not in the developer preview.

The video below is a look at Google Now on Tap. This is a great new feature, but not yet available. Basically, by holding down the home button, it pulls information from the screen and informs you about it in seconds. It’s extremely powerful, but as you can see above, there’s only one loophole right now where that’s going to happen, where there’s quick access to Google Assistant. This means you will lose a feature and have an empty space where a future feature will be. We hope it precedes the global release date later this year with the Android M beta update.

Android Pay isn’t here yet, none of the devices that can run the beta have a fingerprint scanner, and the only big changes are app permissions and the new Doze feature.

Don’t get us wrong, Android M is very impressive and we’re getting excellent results on the Nexus 9 as mentioned above, but not enough for average users to update right now.

You Have Only One Phone or Tablet

If the Nexus 5 or Nexus 6 is your only smartphone, you probably don’t want to install the early beta software on your main device. This is because it’s for testing purposes only, it’s not finished software, it’s missing features, and it probably has a few bugs and issues. Not to mention app support, which we’ll talk about again below.

There’s a reason it’s called the Android M Developer Preview, or “beta”, and that’s because it’s for testing purposes only and developers are integrating all changes into apps before they’re released this fall. Updating Android M if it’s your only smartphone on the Nexus 5 or Nexus 6 is risky even though many people have been seeing good results so far.

The same goes for a tablet, but the Nexus 9 is much better as we’ve installed Android M over the latest Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Performance is better, battery lasts much longer and some bugs have been fixed. Also, the features mentioned above are still missing, many apps don’t work with Android M.

Application support

I’ve been using Android M on my spare Nexus 6 and daily Nexus 9 tablet for a few weeks now and it’s been a positive experience so far. However, some apps don’t work with Android M and I’m stuck waiting for developers to update their apps. The Sling TV I use every day on my Nexus 9 no longer works, Credit Karma is not supported on the Nexus 6 and several games were listed as incompatible and I had to sideload them to get them back on the Nexus 6 or Nexus 9.

Beta updates tend to break or make apps incompatible, and users cannot download them from the Play Store until the developer makes them compatible. Usually, they’ll work just fine if you manually sideload them and install them without the Google Play Store, but this isn’t ideal for average users.

Unlike Apple, Google is relatively new to the whole idea of ​​beta testing. This year, they promised to update the Android M developer preview before the release, which could make it better and add more features, making it worth an early update. But for now, there are too many missing features, app instability, and non-working apps to warrant it on your everyday device.

Downgrading is Difficult

If you decide to try the Android M beta, you’ll need to completely wipe your entire device and start over from a fresh Android install. Users will have to back up apps and pictures, transfer all their data, redownload everything and set up the device as they wish. Then, if you decide you want to go back to Android 5 Lollipop, users will have to wipe the device and do it all over. It can be quite cumbersome, time consuming and frustrating for those who are new to Android or are not used to doing this often.

Android M Beta Issues

While we haven’t run into any major Android M issues, there are plenty of complaints and issues on the Google product forums. As we said above some features are missing, tons of apps are incompatible and there are probably some bugs in the software so it’s beta.

The Android M developer preview is a beta, which means it’s not over. There will be bugs, issues, and issues that Google and its testers will need to fix before the public release. If you install now, you’ll probably run into a few of these. However, if future updates make it more stable and add features like Android Pay and Google Now on Tap, we may change our minds on the matter. But for now, you’d better wait for a later release of the developer preview or the official release in October or November.

It may not be worth it

If you’re excited to try the next version of Android before everyone else, you’re not alone. It has some neat new features, improved battery life and performance, a redesigned app tray, themes for the settings menu, and much more. Right now though, it’s not worth it. Most of the changes are visual, a few behind-the-scenes stuff, all the big features, and the big changes that come with the final release.

Announced at Google IO last year, Android L was launched in October and launched on smartphones and tablets in November. We expect the same this year, it may be a little sooner as there is no major redesign, but that’s hard to say. We only have 4-5 months to wait less if a better developer preview is released.

Unless more features are added to the Android M beta preview, it’s not worth all the hassle, potential issues, and incompatibility just to try the latest software and make a few visual changes. If you still have a spare Nexus smartphone or multiple tablets, enjoy Android M by installing Android M right away with the guide at the top of the page.