Android M Is Basically A Bad Version Of iOS

With an improved memory management tool that shows which apps are running and how much memory they require (alongside how much RAM the app uses on average) even when not running - something Apple has been doing forever.

At Google I/O earlier this summer, Android debuted their latest platform, the mysterious Android M. Although they released the M Developer Preview that same day, there was still a lot unknown. Now, the newest update, Developer Preview 2 is up and running, and we are giving you the rundown on the most important, major change from Lollipop: memory management.

With an improved memory management tool that shows which apps are running and how much memory they require (alongside how much RAM the app uses on average) even when not running.

This might seem not so spectacular, because really, it’s not - Apple has been doing it forever. But trust me: the more memory used, the slower the phone. And it’s Android, so that does mean a phone that shuts down when overworked. If you know which apps are memory hogging, you can remember to close ‘em, delete ‘em, whatever. Android is late to this party, considering Apple has been doing at least half of this for over three years, but whatevs.

Let’s just say I’m pretty happy about it because Lollipop has massive battery drains due to apps that take up too much memory, as well as memory leaks. Current memory management is not only hidden, but also it doesn’t have most of these capabilities.

Other new updates include the app launcher, which instead of strolling horizontal like in all previous versions of Android, will now scroll vertically (again, sigh, Apple did this a long time ago). It also no longer has the letters that allow you to jump alphabetically to the apps (like in the iPhone’s contact list), which appeared on the first developer preview.

Lastly, and a little discouragingly, the Themes option to change the design of Android M has also been hidden in the second preview, so really, it feels like Android is going specifically for this “I’m not original at all” concept.

Not impressed.