Nexus 5 & Nexus 6 Android 6.0 Release Date Details Emerge

We’re less than one week away from Google’s big event in San Francisco where the company will likely announce two new Nexus smartphones for 2015. Those being the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P. However, it will also be the day we learn more details and potentially a release date for the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow software.

Earlier this year Google formally announced Android M, the successor to Android 5.1 Lollipop, and last month confirmed the next major version of Android will indeed be Android 6.0 Marshmallow. They’ve released developer previews for select devices, but the real Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 Android 6.0 Marshmallow update could be coming sooner than many expected.

Read: How to Install Android 6.0 Marshmallow Right Now

With the launch of new Nexus devices always comes a big update to Android, and in 2014 along with the Nexus 6 came Android 5.0 Lollipop on October 15th. Within a few days it started rolling out to existing handsets, and we’ve now learned the same will happen this year for Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Read on for the latest details regarding the software update for both of these phones.

For months select users have been able to test the next major version of Android. Google released three different developer previews of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, or Android M, for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and even the Nexus Player.

However, that was a tedious process that involved unlocking the device bootloader and completely erasing the smartphone, which isn’t ideal for average owners. The millions of owners of the original Nexus 5 from 2013 and last years Nexus 6 who are wondering when they’ll receive Android 6.0 Marshmallow, we have good news.

Today according to the Canadian carrier TELUS, the Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 Android 6.0 Marshmallow over the air software update will arrive on October 5th. This was revealed on the carriers software update website, ahead of any announcement by Google or anyone else.

As shown above, TELUS clearly states that the last two Nexus smartphones will see regular updates from Android 5.1 Lollipop to Android 6.0 Marshmallow starting on October 5th. That’s just six days after Google’s event on the 29th in California. Most likely we can expect a similar release date for the Nexus 7 and Nexus 9 tablet, but that’s yet to be confirmed. The Nexus 6 is also available from all carriers in the US, which could cause updates to be delayed, but we’ll have to wait and see.

It’s worth mentioning that in the past the over the air updates didn’t arrive until after new hardware started shipping. With Android 5.0 the OTA updates didn’t hit the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, or Nexus 7 until the new Nexus 9 hit shelves on November 3rd, more than two weeks after the announcement on October 15th.

What this means is that multiple different rumors that are claiming Google will announce and release the new Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P on September 29th could be correct, and both new phones could go up for pre-order the same day on the Google Store. Then starting the next week on Monday, October 5th, ship to buyers along with Google pushing out software updates to all existing Nexus users.

Read: Nexus 5X vs Nexus 5: What We Know So Far

The October 5th Android 6.0 Marshmallow release date is the first solid piece of evidence we’ve seen so far, but it could also just be a placeholder for TELUS until Google confirms the details themselves on September 29th.

And last but not least, this could be the update “start date” which is when it will initially start rolling out over the air (like all updates) to a small select group of users. Google pushes out new versions of Android in waves, typically taking up to two weeks to hit all devices. With Android 5.0 Lollipop it only hit 20% of users in the first five days, then took nearly two weeks or longer for everyone else to receive it. We can also expect Google to release factory images of the updates for those who’d like to flash it manually, and erase all data in order to have the latest software.

We only have a few more days to wait before Google officially confirms everything, puts rumors to rest, and announces two new Nexus smartphones and the update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Stay tuned, as well update the moment we know more.