Google unveils two Nexus phones, Android Marshmallow upgrades (video)

 September 30, 2015 - 15:13 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Google is countering the release of Apple's latest iPhones with two devices running on a new version of Android software designed to steer and document even more of its users' lives, the Assoiated Press reports.

The Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X unveiled Tuesday, September 29, are the first smartphones sold with an Android upgrade called "Marshmallow." It features changes that will give expanded powers to Android's personal assistant, Google Now, so it can explore the information that people call up in the mobile applications.

The Marshmallow version of Android enables users to summon Google Now to scan whatever content might be on a mobile device's screen so it can present pertinent information about the topic of a text, a song, a video clip or an article.

The new Android feature, called "Now on Tap," will be activated by holding down the device's home button or speaking, "OK Google," into the microphone. That action will prompt Now on Tap to scan the screen in an attempt to figure out how to be the most helpful. Or, if speaking, users can just say what they are seeking, such as "Who sings this?"

Google began taking pre-orders for the Nexus phones in the U.S., United Kingdom, Ireland and Japan on Tuesday and is expected to start shipping by mid-October.

The Nexus 6P has a 5.7-inch screen, slightly larger than the iPhone 6s Plus. The Nexus 5X has a 5.2-inch screen.

Besides its Nexus phones, Google also began selling upgrades to its Chromecast video-streaming device and a new Chromecast model that can be plugged into speakers to play music from a phone or an Internet service. The devices will sell for $35 apiece, the same price that Google has been charging for the original Chromecast, which has won over a lot of households.