Overview

Android Material Design gives new visual language that synthesizes classic principles of good design with the innovation and possibility of technology and science.

• Rational space and a system of motion.
• Print based design(typography,grids,space,scale,color and use of imagery).
• Motion is meaningful.

Material Environment:

Android Material Design is gives 3D world which means all objects have x,y,and z dimensions. It contains Shadow and Light effects to all object .

Material Properties:

1. Physical Properties – it can vary x & y dimensions and not Z dimension (it should be uniform thickness).
2. Transform Properties – it can grow and shrinks only along its plane.(never bends or folds).
3. Movement Properties -it moves along any axis with its plane .

Material Elevation and Shadow:

1. Elevation – it is relative depth between two surfaces objects along the z-axis
2. Shadow – it gives objects depth and directional movement . It indicates the amount of separation between surfaces.
3. Object relationship – Object can move independently of each other .Parent-Child Relationship . The child in each of these relationship refers to an element that is a subordinate to its Parent element.

Elevation (dp)	Component
24	Dialog Picker
16	NavDrawer RightDrawer ModalBottomSheet
12	Floating action button
9	Sub-menu(+1dp for each sub menu)
8	Menu Card Raised Button
6	Floating action button(Resting elevation) Snackbar
4	AppBar
3	Refresh indicator Quick entry/Search bar(Scrolled state)
2	Card(Resting) Raised button(Resting) Quick entry /Search bar(Resting)
1	Switch

Consistent choreography:

Secondary color:
Grid:
Parent to Child: Exploring deeper levels, or screens, of an app is a hierarchical journey that starts at a parent screen. From there, a user can explore multiple possible sub- screens, which are children to the parent screen.

Animation:

Responsive Interaction:

• Touch, voice, mouse, and keyboard are all equally important input methods.
• UI elements appear tangible, even though they are behind a layer of glass (the device screen). To bridge that gap, visual and motion cues acknowledge input immediately and animate in ways that look and feel like direct manipulation.

Responsive interaction elevates an application from an information-delivery service to an experience that communicates using multiple visual and tactile responses.

1.Surface Reaction:

Instant visual confirmation at the point of contact :under the pad of a finger for touch, at the microphone for voice, or in the appropriate field for a keyboard press.

2.Material Response:

Like surface reactions, material can lift up when touched, indicating an active state. On touch, the user can generate new or transform existing material, or directly manipulate sheets of material by dragging or flinging them. Material can be resized linearly or radially.

3.Radial Action:

Add clarity to user input through visual reactions to user input. Radial action is the visual ripple of ink spreading outward from the point of input.

Transitions

Visual Continuity :

Transitioning between two visual states should be clear, smooth, and effortless. A well-designed transition tells the user where to focus their attention.

Hierarchical Timing:

When building a transition, consider the order and timing of element movement. Ensure that motion supports the information hierarchy, conveying what content is most important by creating a path for the eye to follow.

The paths elements travel along should make sense and be orderly and in coordinate manner.

Style:

Color palette:

Google suggests using the 500 colors as the primary colors in your app and the other colors as accents colors in Android Material Design.

Primary color:

When using a primary color in your palette, this color should be the most widely used across all screens and components.

Palettes with a secondary color may use this color to indicate a related action or information. The secondary color may be a darker or lighter variation of the primary color.

Accent color:

The accent should be used for the floating action button and interactive elements, such as:

Text fields and cursors,Text selection,Progress bars,Selection controls, buttons, and sliders,Links.

Layouts:

Metrics & key lines:

Baseline grids:

All components align to an 8dp square baseline grid for mobile, tablet, and desktop. Iconography in toolbars align to a 4dp square baseline grid.  

Key-lines & Spacing:

key lines, spacing guidance, and sample screens for elements on mobile, tablet, and desktop.

Statusbar:24dp

Title:80dp

Subtitle: 48dp

List Item:72dp

Toolbar: 56dp

Account menu and list items: 48dp

Space between content areas: 8dp

Navigation right margin: 56dp

Screen edge left and right margins: 24dp

Content left margin from screen edge: 80dp

Card left and right padding: 24dp

Card content left padding: 104dp

Status bar and space above list: 24dp

Space between content areas: 8dp

Screen edge left and right padding: 24dp

Icons’ vertical center distance from screen edge: 52dp

Nav item left padding from screen edge: 104dp

Content left margin from screen edge: 80dp

Card left and right padding: 32dp

Card nav item left padding: 96dp

Subtitle, list item, and slider: 48dp

Material designs responsive UI is based on a 12-column grid layout. This grid creates visual consistency between layouts, while allowing flexibility across a wide variety of designs. The number of grid columns varies based on the breakpoint system.

Components:

Bottom Sheets

A bottom sheet is a sheet of material that slides up from the bottom edge of the screen. A bottom sheet can be a temporary modal surface or a persistent structural element of an app.

1.Modal bottom sheets slide in over an app’s content.

2.Persistent bottom sheets are an integral part of an app’s layout.

Font and color

• Text: Roboto Regular 16sp,  #000 87%
• Title (optional): Roboto Regular 16sp, #000 54%
• Default bottom sheet background fill: #FFF
• Transparent overlay fill: #000 20%

Button:

A button clearly communicates what action will occur when the user touches it. It consists of text, an image, or both, designed in accordance with your app’s color theme.

There are three standard types of buttons:

• Floating action button: A circular material button that lifts and displays an ink reaction on press.
• Raised button: A typically rectangular material button that lifts and displays ink reactions on press.
• Flat button: A button made of ink that displays ink reactions on press but does not lift.

Card: A card is a sheet of material that serves as an entry point to more detailed information. A card could contain a photo, text, and a link about a single subject.

Card collections only scroll vertically.

Cards can be constructed using blocks of content which include: 1. An optional header 2. A primary title 3. Rich media 4. Supporting text 5. Actions

Metrics & Key-line in Cards :

Primary title top padding: 24dp Primary title bottom padding: 16dp Action button row padding: 8dp Supporting text top padding: 16dp Supporting text bottom padding: 24dp Supporting text: 14sp

Elevation Card resting elevation: 2dp Card raised elevation: 8dp

Chip: Complex entities in small block .it may contain photo,short title and brief information. it may also contain icon.

Snackbars: Snackbar appears on the bottom of the screen for showing a brief information.it can contain an action and only one snackbar on screen at a time.

Steppers: Steppers covey progress through numbered steps.

Tabs: Switch between different views or functional aspects of an app. Tabs control the display of content in a consistent location.

Text fields: User to input text,select text and lookup data .

Tooltips: Tooltips are labels that appear on hover and focus when the user hovers over an element with the cursor, focuses on an element using a keyboard (usually through the tab key), or upon touch (without releasing) in a touch UI.

Patterns:

Fingerprint:

Fingerprint detection can be used to unlock a device, sign in to apps, and authenticate purchases with Google Play and some third-party apps.

Fingerprint is not as secure as a strong PIN or password.

Permissions:

Permission requests should be simple, transparent, and understandable. When requesting access, apps should ensure that either the feature itself or an explanation provided makes it clear why a permission is needed.

Runtime Permissions:

Apps may request permission to access information or use device capabilities at any time after installation. When a user needs to perform an action in an app, such as using the device camera, the app may request permission at that moment.

Users may also allow or deny the permissions of any app from Android Settings anytime after installation.

Denied Permissions:

Provide feedback whenever a permission is denied.

Navigational Transitions: Movements between states in an app such as from a high-level view to a detailed view. Most, but not all, transitions are hierarchical in nature.

Sibling to Sibling: Sibling transitions are transitions that occur between elements at the same level of hierarchy

INTRODUCTION

The term iBeacon and Beacon are often used interchangeably.

iBeacon is the name for Apple’s technology standard, which allows Mobile Apps (running on both iOS and Android devices) to listen for signals from beacons in the physical world and react accordingly. In essence, iBeacon technology allows Mobile Apps to understand their positionon a micro-local scale, and deliver hyper-contextual content to users based on location. The underlying communication technology is Bluetooth Low Energy.

BLUETOOTH LOW ENERGY

Bluetooth Low Energy is a wireless personal area network technology used for transmitting data over short distances. As the name implies, it’s designed for low energy consumption and cost, while maintaining a communication range similar to that of its predecessor, Classic Bluetooth.

1. Power Consumption: Bluetooth LE, as the name hints, has low energy requirements. It can last up to 3 years on a single coin cell battery.
2. Lower Cost: BLE is 60-80% cheaper than traditional Bluetooth.
3. Application: BLE is ideal for simple applications requiring small periodic transfers of data. Classic Bluetooth is preferred for more complex applications requiring consistent communication and more data throughput.

BLE Communication Process

1. BLE communication consists primarily of “Advertisements”, or small packets of data, broadcast at a regular interval by Beacons or other BLE enabled devices via radio waves.
2. BLE Advertising is a one-way communication method. Beacons that want to be “discovered” can broadcast, or “Advertise” self-contained packets of data in set intervals. These packets are meant to be collected by devices like smartphones, where they can be used for a variety of smartphone applications to trigger things like push messages, app actions, and prompts.
3. Apple’s iBeacon standard calls for an optimal broadcast interval of 100 ms. Broadcasting more frequently uses more battery life but allows for quicker discovery by smartphones and other listening devices.
4. Standard BLE has a broadcast range of up to 100 meters, which make Beacons ideal for indoor location tracking and awareness.

iBeacon use BLE communication

With iBeacon,Apple has standardized the format for BLE Advertising, Under this format, an advertising packet consists of four main piece of information.

1. UUID:This is a 16 byte string used to differentiate a large group of related beacons. For example, if Coca-Cola maintained a network of beacons in a chain of grocery stores, all Coca-Cola beacons would share the same UUID. This allows Coca-Cola’s dedicated smartphone app to know which beacon advertisements come from Coca-Cola-owned beacons.
2. Major:This is a 2 byte string used to distinguish a smaller subset of beacons within the larger group. For example, if Coca-Cola had four beacons in a particular grocery store, all four would have the same Major. This allows Coca-Cola to know exactly which store its customer is in.
3. Minor:This is a 2 byte string meant to identify individual beacons. Keeping with the Coca-Cola example, a beacon at the front of the store would have its own unique Minor. This allows Coca-Cola’s dedicated app to know exactly where the customer is in the store.
4. Tx Power:This is used to determine proximity (distance) from the beacon. How does this work? TX power is defined as the strength of the signal exactly 1 meter from the device. This has to be calibrated and hardcoded in advance. Devices can then use this as a baseline to give a rough distance estimate.

Why is iBeacon a Big Deal?

1. With an iBeacon network, any brand, retailer, app, or platform will be able to understand exactly where a customer is in the brick and mortar environment. This provides an opportunity to send customers highly contextual, hyper-local, meaningful messages and advertisements on their smartphones.
2. The typical scenario looks like this. A consumer carrying a smartphone walks into a store. Apps installed on a consumer’s smartphone listen for iBeacons. When an app hears an iBeacon, it communicates the relevant data (UUID, Major, Minor, Tx) to its server, which then triggers an action. This could be something as simple as a push message [“Welcome to Target! Check out Doritos on Aisle 3!”], and could include other things like targeted advertisements, special offers, and helpful reminders [“You’re out of Milk!”]. Other potential applications include mobile payments and shopper analytics and implementation outside of retail, at airports, concert venues, theme parks, and more. The potential is limitless.
3. This technology should bring about a paradigm shift in the way brands communicate with consumers.iBeacon provides a digital extension into the physical world. We’re excited to see where iBeacon technology goes in the next few year.

Now on Tap anticipates what you need in the moment. With a simple tap, you can get cards with useful information and apps that feed your need to know.

INTRODUCTION:

Android Marshmallow is a refinement and extension of the core features and functionality of Android Lollipop.In this Android Marshmallow review, I take a look at the major features of Google's latest OS version to let you know where it hits, where it misses, and where it has room to improve.

Android Marshmallow Release Date:

Android Marshmallow was initially announced at Google I/O on May 28, when it was released as the Android M developer preview. Several updates to the preview came out before Marshmallow was officially named on August 17. Google finally unveiled Android 6.0 Marshmallow, alongside the 2015 Nexus devices, on September 29, 2015.

As usual, Google's Nexus family was first to get the goods, and the brand new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P were the launch devices for Android 6.0. Factory images for most of the existing Nexus range – the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player – appeared on October 5.

COMPARISON WITH LOLLIPOP :

• Visual Appearance

• Integration of new Google products

• Core features of the system

• Security

• Improvements to usability

Visual Appearance :

Android Marshmallow is visually similar to its predecessor, Lollipop, in many ways. Google’s Material Design language is now more pervasive than ever before and the main areas of the UI –settings, notifications shade and navigation – remain the same. But Marshmallow does have some differences in appearance and new features .

• Lock screen:

1. The Marshmallow lock screen is almost identical to Lollipop's, complete with expandable notifications and app shortcuts. But where Lollipop had shortcuts in the bottom corners that too you to the camera and dialer, Marshmallow replaces the dialer shortcut with one to Google’s voice search. This small update is the first clue as to just how integral voice commands are to Marshmallow.

• Google voice command:

• App drawer:
  

1. The app drawer in Marshmallow went through a couple of changes during the developer preview process and appears in the final version as a vertical scrolling list as opposed to the paginated horizontal list from Lollipop. You can scroll through the list or use a new scrubber bar on the right to jump to a particular letter of the alphabet.
   

• Notifications and Quick Settings

1. The notifications area displays app notifications, which can be expanded or tapped to launch the full app. This area also shows persistent system notifications, such as when a Bluetooth device is connected or other system features are enabled. The 'dismiss all' button now faces the other direction compared to Lollipop, but it does the same thing.

• System UI Tuner
  

1. Once enabled, System UI Tuner will appear in the settings menu at the very bottom. It provides a few simple UI tweaks, including adding a battery percentage indicator to your battery icon, a customizable Quick Settings area, where toggles can be rearranged or removed and new ones added, and a menu for displaying which icons are displayed in your status bar. You’ll never have to suffer a cluttered status bar with NFC, Bluetooth and Alarm icons again.

• Animations and Easter Egg:
  

1. Animations and transitions make up an even larger part of Marshmallow than they did in Lollipop. Transitions between apps, pages and settings are quite often accompanied by animations, as is toggling features on and off within the various settings and menus. It’s relatively minor stuff but it all adds to the polished feeling of Marshmallow.
2. As always, there is a hidden Easter Egg in Marshmallow and it can be seen as a kind of metaphor for Marshmallow as a whole. In Android Lollipop the Easter Egg was a Flappy Bird clone. Just as Marshmallow looks an awful lot like Lollipop on the surface with lots of refinements and improvements underneath, the Flappy Bird Easter Egg returns, but with a bit of a makeover. It’s accessed by repeatedly tapping Android version in the About phone section of the settings.

• Dark theme and rotation support:

1. For unknown reasons, both the system-wide dark theme and support for a rotating home screen were removed from the final version of Marshmallow, despite appearing in versions of the developer preview. We may yet see these make a return in future updates to Marshmallow – they are frequently-requested features, after all – but for now they are not a part of the Android 6.0

Android Marshmallow Google integration:

• Google Now on Tap:

• Google Now on Tap basically shortcuts the need to search for additional contextual information and delivers it at any turn. Long-pressing the home button now activates Google Now on Tap, replacing the old gesture for Google Now from any screen.

• Now on Tap reads the content of any screen on your phone, whether it is in a Google or third-party app, and delivers information that might be relevant to keywords on-screen.

• It’s basically everything we always wanted Google Search to be: instant, useful and effortless. It isn’t perfect, and you’ll still get results you’re not after from time to time, but it’s a really great start.

• Voice API and Assist API:

1. voice search is implemented in google voice api to launch application such as watzup,hike,settings .and also command for call, messages like siri in Iphone .

• Google settings app:

1. Google Settings is implemented seperately for changing voice control settings and google api calling settings.

• Android Pay:

1. Android Pay is simple to set up but it requires an NFC-equipped terminal at
   participating retailers as well as an NFC-equipped smartphone. Samsung Pay has an advantage here because it also works on the existing magnetic strip readers already in stores

Android Marshmallow performance

• Doze

Doze is battery status checking settingsl. Where other devices lose an average of 15-25 percent of battery life overnight, Marshmallow can take that down to 3-5 percent, taking your standby time to nearly two weeks in the process.

• App standby

1. App standby is the app equivalent of Doze, like a stock Android version of Greenify. App standby identifies apps that haven’t been used in a while and puts them into a deep sleep, which is basically the same thing as disabling them in the settings.
2. This means they can’t use system resources, run background processes or sync and access the network, so an instant messenger you rarely use might end up on standby and stop receiving notifications, for example. If you don't want this, Google has created a whitelist, with which you can prevent apps from being put on standby.

• Type-C and reverse charging:

Marshmallow also supports the new standard, USB Type-C. Type-C cables are reversible – so you won’t have to worry about fumbling around with your charging cable in the dark – and they also support faster data transfer and charging speeds

• microSD support – Adaptable Storage Devices

1. Marshmallow also supports the new standard, USB Type-C. Type-C cables are reversible – so you won’t have to worry about fumbling around with your charging cable in the dark – and they also support faster data transfer and charging speeds

2. With the arrival of Marshmallow we're finally looking at full-fledged support for microSD expansion in Android devices. Under Marshmallow, microSD cards can be formatted to a specific device – meaning they will be unusable elsewhere – and treated as another part of internal storage by the Android system.

• Internal storage and file manager

RAM manager is implemented in android 6.0 in settings for checking the ram status.

Android Marshmallow security

• App permissions
  

1. This means you are in control of whether or not an app has access to something as critical as your microphone or camera.
   
2. Some apps might not work properly with certain permissions disabled, but the onus is on the app developers to stabilize their apps without all permissions granted, not on you to accept what you might feel are unnecessary permissions.
   
3. Permissions for a particular app can be viewed within the settings menu (to which permissions an app does or doesn't have) or by permission type (so you can see how many apps have access to your contacts, for example).
   
4. Viewing by permission type is slightly hard to get to, but at least that will stop accidental changes from being made.
   

• Fingerprint API
  

1. Android Marshmallow introduces system-level fingerprint support via the new fingerprint API.
   
2. Both new Nexus devices have a fingerprint scanner. The rollout of Android Pay and other touchless payment systems that rely on fingerprint scanners for authentication can now be handled by Android itself rather than a manufacturer add-on.
   
3. Fortunately, Google has set minimum standards for scanner accuracy in order to pass its device certification.
   

• Automatic app backup
  

1. Historically, Android has offered a pretty weak app backup solution. The Backup and reset section in Lollipop was opt-in, vague and incomplete. Marshmallow can now automatically back up both your apps and data, so any apps restored from a backup will be the same as they were before – you’ll be signed in and right where you left off.
   

• Network security reset
  

1. Network security reset is a nice little feature in the Backup and reset settings which allows you to quickly and easily remove all passwords, settings and connections associated with Bluetooth, cellular data and Wi-Fi. It’s a simple addition that demonstrates how much attention to enhanced security and user-facing controls in Marshmallow.
   

• Monthly security patches
  

1. Following the Stagefright scare, Google and a number of manufacturers pledged to provide monthly security updates to keep on top of any security weaknesses in Android. With this in mind, Marshmallow now displays your device’s Android security patch level section in the About phone section.
   

• Encryption
  

1. Encryption is back in Android Marshmallow with a vengeance
   
2. Marshmallow heralds the dawn of the new age of Android encryption, although only on new devices. New Android devices running Marshmallow are required to use full-disk encryption by default, but devices updated from a previous version of Android do not.
   

• Smart Lock
  

1. Smart Lock has been around since Lollipop, but it bears repeating now that smartwatches are more prevalent.
   
2. Smart Lock on Marshmallow provides options for unlocking your
   
   device or keeping your device unlocked depending on various intuitive scenarios.
   
3. Smart Lock is found in the security settings and requires the use of some form of lock screen security.
   

• Smart Lock for Passwords
  

1. Google’s old Google Settings app is no more, having graduated to its very own section in the Settings menu, where it belongs. This area contains all your Google settings and preferences.
   
2. Everything from Voice, Google Fit, Now and location access is contained here, so it’s worth getting to know this area.
   
3. One new addition is called Smart Lock for Passwords and it is basically a Google password manager
   

Android Marshmallow usability

• Text selection
  

1. Marshmallow introduces an improved text selection setup
   

• Delete screenshots from notifications shade
  

1. In previous versions of Android, when you took a screenshot the only option you had straight from the notifications preview was to share it.
   
2. In Marshmallow, you can now delete it too. This may not seem like a big deal, but if, like me, you take about a hundred screenshots a day, it's hugely convenient because you no longer have to go into your gallery to delete a poorly timed or duplicate screenshot.
   

• App links
  

1. Another long-standing irritation with Android is the way it handles app links.
   
2. Previously, you seemed to have to repeated tell the system to always open certain links with a certain app, only to have to repeat the process again and again.
   
3. This seems to have finally been solved with Marshmallow.
   

• Silent mode/priority notifications
  

1. Silent mode is back in Android Marshmallow, along with a fairly confusing new volume setup.
   
2. When you press the volume button you'll get a single volume slider, which can be expanded to reveal ring volume as well as media volume and alarm volume.
   

• Direct share
  

1. Direct Share is a new feature. It doesn't work everywhere yet, but the idea is that when you hit the share picker, instead of just seeing a list of apps, you'll see some contacts at the top as well.
   
2. Theoretically you can instantly share the content with that person rather than head to an app in which you then need to choose a contact.
   

• Chrome custom tabs
  

1. This is basically a Chrome-based in-app mini-browser that developers can use to display web page content within their app (like an FAQ or Help page), rather than having a user bounce from their app to a web app and possibly not make it back.
   
2. Developers can color and brand the Chrome custom tab to look as much like part of their app as possible.
   
3. The popup browser draws over the top of the original app, and supports basically all the features of the full version of Chrome itself, but with dedicated tweaks specifically for that app that's using it, such as an embedded share button specifically for their app.

Conclusion:

Android Marshmallow isn't so much a revolution as a refinement of Android. The visual makeover of Android Lollipop now has a lot more depth beneath that shiny surface. Marshmallow is primarily about a few things: making Google services even easier to use; delivering better ways to access and manage apps; addressing core system weaknesses like battery life and security; and delivering more customization and user-facing controls to stock Android.