Android-x86 brings Marshmallow softness to Intel, AMD PCs

Ever wanted to use Android on your spare desktop or laptop, maybe even tablet, but didn't really care for all the bells and whistles offered by Jide's Remix OS for PC? If that's the case, then this latest Android-x86 release might just be the right fit for you. Now at version 6.0-r1, this is the first stable release of Android-x86 based on Android Marshmallow. And while it may not have yet the multi-tasking features of 7.0 Nougat, it does pave the way for that brighter future for Android on PCs.

Although it may not be the only one, the Android-x86 project is perhaps the most successful and longest-running community port of Android for x86 and x86_64 computers, particularly those running on Intel's chips. It is so popular that Jide, makers of the Android Remix devices and OS, grabbed Android-x86 founder Chih-Wei Huang for its own team, basing the new Remix OS for PCs on this body of code.

Curiously, this Android x86 6.0 release comes almost two months after Jide released a new Marshmallow version of Remix OS for PCs. Still, not everyone might have been so enamored by Remix OS and some might opt for a leaner platform to build their own customizations on. For these people, Android-x86 is the perfect thing.

Aside from upgrading to Marshmallow, Android-x86 6.0-r1 also brings in some new features and fixes. For the security-conscious, it includes all recent AOSP security fixes and patches. For the stability-conscious, it uses Linux kernel version 4.4.20 from the kernel's "Long-Term Support" (LTS) tree. Android-x86 also now provides a normal looking mouse cursor, instead of a simple circle, taken from Android Nougat.

Installing Android-x86, however, might not be for the faint of heart. Although it practically uses the same tools as Remix OS for PC, it doesn't package them into a single downloadable bundle. For those who do wish to dive in, Android-x86 now supports both 32-bit and 64-bit processors and both legacy BIOS and UEFI firmwares.

SOURCE: Android-x86

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