Android 6.0 is kind of plain. I’m digging all the new features that Google added in Marshmallow, but most of what’s new is hidden deep inside the operating system.

Lock screen

Google’s tried plenty of different things with the Lock screen over the years, but thankfully it eventually settled on the idea that it should remain simple and utilitarian.
Marshmallow’s Lock screen is exactly that: the clock now has bolder text, so you can more easily glance over to check the time, and the notification panel has been improved with drop-down access to the Quick Settings. The dialer shortcut in the lower left corner has been replaced with a Google Now shortcut, so you can start a voice search without unlocking your device. And if you set up a passcode or pattern unlock, there’s a handy Emergency button that peaks out underneath, in case you’re in an awful situation.

Improved copy and paste

Android was one of the first mobile operating systems to implement the ability to copy and paste. In Marshmallow, Google fixed the copy and paste feature so that it’s easier to use. Tapping and holding is now more responsive and you won’t have to wait as long for the option window to pop up. Google also swapped out the confusing editing overlay with more obvious options that float over the selected text. And, if you have Google Translate installed, the copy and paste settings will offer the ability to instantly translate the text.

A more informative Settings menu

I appreciate that with every new version of Android, Google beefs up the Settings menu just a little bit more. But sometimes, it serves as reminder that Google’s still figuring out how to organize Android. For instance, if you scroll down in the Settings to the About tab, you’ll find a section detailing the last time you’ve received a security update. I like that this sort of transparency is now commonplace, but it’s something that Android should have done from the get-go. The Google Settings app no longer exists, and instead it’s a menu item in the Settings.

Now on Tap is watching you

If you’ve been wondering why you were giving Google access to so much of your information all this time, look no further than Google Now on Tap. It’s not only one of the best features of Marshmallow, but it also serves as reminder of how Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana still fall short.
Google’s always curious about the context of your Internet activity, so it built the Now on Tap API to hook into what you’re seeing on screen and deliver search results in a matter that’s relevant. The minute you hold down the Home button to engage it, Now on Tap is actively attempting to figure out what’s most important about what you’re looking at.

Make your own decisions with Permissions

Application permissions have become a bit of an emotionally-charged topic over the years. In Android 4.3, Google introduced App Ops to try to help users figure out which apps were being overly intrusive, though it was quickly pulled because it rendered some applications useless. Currently, if you don’t like that an application has access to a sensitive part of your OS, your only option is to opt out of installing it. This is pretty limiting.

Marshmallow solves this dilemma with individual application permissions. The Play Store no longer asks you to agree to all permissions before you can install an app. Instead, the app will query you when it wants access to a part of your device—like the camera, for instance—and it’s up to you to decide whether or not to allow it. If you deny it, any features that rely on that permission won’t work, but the rest of the app will

A better backup solution—supposedly

Android’s been a particularly bad operating system for those who often jump between devices. I can attest that before Tap & Go was introduced in Lollipop, it was a serious pain in the ass to swap SIM cards between review devices.

While Tap & Go has made it easier to get your apps onto a new device, the data contained within those apps don’t come along for the ride. And though Android has had a backup solution in place since Froyo, it’s never quite worked as well as it should have.

Doze puts your battery to sleep

Although it sounds like a brand of cough syrup, Doze is actually Marshmallow’s new and fantastic battery-saving feature. When you leave your phone or tablet alone on a desk or kitchen table somewhere, the device goes into a hibernation mode of sorts to hold on to whatever battery power it has left. Network access and background processes are batched together and run infrequently, with only high-priority tasks running as usual. Once you turn the screen on, all the notifications will come blasting at you at once, like your device’s been revived from the dead. It’s an amazing feature and I was thoroughly impressed by how little energy the Nexus 6 burned through the night. With Wi-Fi on, it only used up two percent of its battery life, and with LTE on, it only ate through ten percent.

Finally, a full-blown fingerprint API

Fingerprint scanners on Android devices are nothing particularly new. Samsung has them, HTC’s had them, and even Motorola’s had them in the past. But it’s high time that Android has its own native fingerprint API, because now developers can easily pop it into their apps to use for things like mobile payments.