Sony took the off-the-beaten track for its Android 6.0 Marshmallow update by releasing a concept version released to its device owners. It is reported to be a huge hit among Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact owners, the official Android 6.0 Marshmallow update is expected to hit Xperia M5 and Xperia M4 Aqua in the coming weeks.

Sony Xperia M5 and Xperia M4 Aqua have been included in the priority list of the company for the Marshmallow updates that is set to begin anytime in February. Although, it was confirmed already that the flagship phones will go first by then, these devices are expected to get their fair share of Marshmallow later next month or by March. Despite the scarcity of information regarding the official release date of the firmware, reports are firm it will come not later than March 2016.

Expectedly, Sony Xperia M5 and Xperia M4 Aqua devices under mobile carriers are more likely to receive the update later than retail or unlocked versions.

Sony had been vocal about its strong desire to pursue head-on the Marshmallow update to more of its devices, following controversy it created when it turned down Xperia Z, Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z1 Ultra in the Marshmallow lineup.

Among the popular Android 6.0 Marshmallow features, the devices will have a more convenient notification area, native fingerprint support, extensive Android Pay, granular app permissions, app links, simplified volume slide, floating window for text selection, custom Chrome tabs, system user interface tuner, RAM memory manager, USB Type-C and USB 3.1 support, screenshots options, microSD support, aps and settings backup, Google settings and Direct share.

The notification are becomes more convenient with Marshmallow. Home to settings and alerts, users have the option now to organize all these through this section. On top of that, the notification also has a few tweaks.

It works still with the two-step process. With one slide down, notifications will show up. Another slide down expands the area adding the Quick settings menu.

The button for dismiss running apps looks quite different now. Aside from that, the priority notification settings is now in the Quick settings.