11 Sweet Hidden Features Inside Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Google Now is one of Android's coolest and most useful innovations. A helpful new Marshmallow feature makes it even more so.

Google Now on Tap allows you to access Now without leaving the app you're currently using. Just long-press on the Home button from any screen and follow a few simple instructions to activate it for the first time (this step is only necessary once—afterwards, a simple long touch will activate it).

Now on Tap creates a Google Now overlay with your current app in the background. In addition to a familiar Google search screen at the top, Now on Tap automatically provides ready-made information and links based on what's on your current page (e.g. if you're reading a movie review, it might provide links to articles about the director or movie times; or it might bring up information on a band you're listening to on Spotify). This feature saves you the time of leaving your app to find additional information. Recently, Google also started incorporating Google Now cards.

Don't tell Jonny Ive, but Android occasionally borrows things from iOS. In this case, Android devs took some inspiration from iOS's cut-and-paste functionality. After you highlight a piece of text in Marshmallow, the cut/paste/search options float over the text rather than at the top of the screen as they did in previous incarnations. It's a lot easier to work with.

Previously, only tasks like camera or emergency calls were available from the lock screen without a password, but Marshmallow places Google voice search a mere swipe away—no log-in required. This is a big help when you need to quickly look up that one actor's name from that thing...you know the one, right? Okay, just let me Google it real quick.

In the wake of big giant scary Android bugs like Stagefright, Google has been working with manufacturers to create monthly security patches (participation will vary among manufacturers and carriers).

If your particular device is a participating member in the monthly update regime, you'll be able to check on your gadget's status by going to Settings > About tablet and checking your "Android security patch level." This tells you the last time you received an official Android security patch.

Another iOS influence can be found in Marshmallow's newfound ability to toggle on and off individual apps' access to specific phone functions. This power is arguably far more important in the malwarelicious world of Android than it is in the more sheltered iOS ecosystem.

Does that cool screensaver from that no-name developer in eastern Ukraine want access to your microphone for no good reason? Now you have the power to nix it. (Though, if a screensaver is asking for microphone access, you should really consider deleting it altogether). Just go to Settings > Apps > [tap a particular app] > Permissions . Here you can toggle access to specific phone features on and off. Take control of your device!

If you're an Android user, chances are you are fairly well-embedded in the Google ecosystem. So, that being the case, it make sense that Google would concentrate all your Google settings in a single easy-to-find place. Now you can check/alter your account information for the many heads of the Google hydra from one section in the Settings menu.

Few things are more annoying than searching out various alpha-numeric characters from your hard-to-guess password on a touch-screen keyboard. A new Marshmallow feature allows you to avoid much of that hassle via a new "Smart Lock for Passwords" feature.

You can access this feature via the aforementioned Google settings menu by going to Settings > Google > Smart Lock for Passwords. Here, you can turn the "Smart Lock" on, which allows "the passwords for your Android apps to be saved to your Google account." This will allow you to store your app passwords on the cloud in a secure central location, which you can access whenever you move to a new device.

On the same page, you'll have the ability to toggle on/off the "Auto sign-in" feature, which will "automatically sign in to apps and websites connected to your account." A little further down the screen, you'll notice a "Never save" area, where you can add exceptions to this rule (that's a good place for your banking apps, for example).

Android attempts to save power by putting inactive apps to sleep (and therefore not allowing them to tap your phone's valuable resources). This "app standby" mode is a mostly beneficial feature—from a longevity vantage point. However, if you have apps that you'd like to keep updating even when they're not front and center (a messaging or email app for example), you can add them to your battery optimization exception list.

Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery optimization (available via the menu in the top-right corner). On this page you can find a pull-down menu with two options: "Not optimized" (i.e. the apps that are always on) and "All apps." Just tap on an app from any list and you will have the ability to "Optimize" (to reiterate: The app will go into standby when not in use) and "Don't optimize" (which will keep your apps functioning at all times, but will drain your battery more quickly).

So, as it turns out, Marshmallow has a secret hidden menu. You can enable this so-called "UI Tuner" menu by long-pressing on the gear icon you would normally use to get to Settings. This will prompt a message informing you that the hidden UI Tuner has indeed been added to your Settings menu.

You'll find this new menu by going to Settings and scrolling down to the "System" section. The first time you tap on it, you will prompt a warning informing you that these are experimental features which may mess with your device.

There are a variety of little tweaks here you can play with, including some we'll detail more in other slides. Frankly, most features are things that the majority of users will probably never ever need, like "Demo mode," which hides notifications, sets battery gauge to 100 percent, and sets the clock to 5:20 to guarantee perfect screenshots. So have fun with that.

Note: I was able to access the UI Tuner on a Nexus 7 tablet running stock Marshmallow, but was not able to access it on my phone OEM's (Samsung) version of Android. So there's a good chance this feature will not survive your device-maker's filter. Happy hunting.

Want to change which "tiles" appear in your pull-down Quick Settings shade? You'll have to enact the previously mentioned UI Tuner (if you have access to it). Once in the Tuner, the top choice will be "Quick Settings."

Once you tap into that, you'll see a version of the pull-down shade with all the available tiles. Here, you will have the ability to tap and drag the tiles to reorder them. You can even delete individual ones by dragging them to the trashcan at the bottom. Alternatively, you can click the "Add tile" button at the bottom-center of this screen to reinstate any features you previously deleted.

What would a Google product be without an Easter egg? Unfortunately, Marshmallow's egg feels like an afterthought in that it is exactly like the Easter egg in Lollipop. It's even hidden in the same exact place. Just go to Settings > About Tablet > keep tapping The Android Version. Next, a large billowy icon will show up on the screen. Tap that once to turn it into a marshmallow. After a looooong push on that, you'll be taken to a marshmallow-themed Flappy Bird clone.

The first time you play you'll find a plus symbol at the top, which will allow you to add more players (who strangely enough can all play simultaneously). It's actually super hard. I couldn't get past the first hurdle.