yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Hey everyone, here's some truth:

1) The team at HQ has already been working on Android 6.0. That isn't a mystery, but what is not official is whether that will arrive for all current ZenFones or future ones.

2) I work in the US, and don't have visibility on release dates, progress, etc., because I'm fairly low on the totem pole

3) I've tried to help this community by giving as many updates as possible, but I can't if i don't get any from HQ. I really wish I could do more...maybe if I made a ROM...

4) To be fair, i've been more active in the Reddit thread and have worked with our team here to address issues they might have, so I've been more helpful there

Sorry if you guys think I'm not valuable here...I'll try to do more.
[ZenFone 2 General] Calin:
Don't think in that way man, we appreciate what news you bring to us (well atleast me) so don't feel sad ;)
[ZenFone 2 General] threi_:
Fact of the matter is you can continue to be overly dramatic and speak ill of PR people who mean the best, or just get a nexus device. You know how things go for android. You either deal with delayed updates and skins (and potentially increased functionality), or you go with a nexus and get the latest right away (and whatever bugs come with it. Lollipop is an example staring you in the face).

Everyone here should know how the android landscape works right now, it has been like this for years. I knew that i was giving up in timely updates when a came from a nexus device to this one, its a sacrifice i am willing to make (along with the risk of me having to RMA it since asus devices tend to always break on me) because of the phone's price to performance ratio. Buying the device, knowing this, and then *****ing when it might happen (or rather me having no patience and wanting everything now) is just incredibly childish.

On a related topic if there was any phone owner that should be pissed right now, its moto e users. they were promised support from motorola for at least a year, and moto went back on their word and ended support for moto e. less than a full year of support.

As stated ASUS owes you nothing. They promised you nothing. Stop acting entitled.
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
I can't say what will happen with ZenPads although they are the tablet for ASUS going forward. The ZenPad S 8.0 is the best of the family and definitely deserves the latest updates. I'm trying to push the team to provide a roadmap of updates for the ZenFone and ZenPad devices, but there are MANY people/teams involved, each with their own ideas about what's the best thing to do for consumers. So, please be patient!
[ZenFone 2 General] luxlun:
someone will rom it soon enough hope it not cm13 lol
[ZenFone 2 General] ImjuzCY:
Asus is already good enough as they have a PR person here to TRY HIS BEST TO UPDATE THE PUBLIC BUT STILL scolded by some. At least they didn't leave you in the middle of nowhere and let you find the way yourself.

Asus didn't promise you that Marshmallow is coming for us that doesn't mean it is not. Just like no aliens communicated earth doesn't mean there is no alien at all. Some details they are not allowed to share just like those who participated in the Asus beta program.

If some of you guys think that we're defending Asus and saying that we're some "sad fanboy blah blah blah" , why don't you look at yourself? You're just the same "sad fanboy" of other OEM not Asus trying to promote the idea of not buying an Asus device. I'm not going to mention who is the "sad fanboy" here, I believe everyone can see. I'm starting to think that you're actually a PR from HTC or whatever (joke, cause you're not gonna get a job if this is your pr strategy, or maybe you will, who cares).

[MENTION=6922370]ASUS_Khang[/MENTION] you're just doing your job. I understand that sometimes there will be obstacles especially PR that have to face the public.

And finally, why are you guys feeling so insecure? Zenfone 2 is this year's flagship right? We should actually trust that we're getting Marshmallow sooner or later. Or at least if we didn't at last, we know what to do when we're choosing our next phone. But still, I truly believe that we're getting Marshmallow (like previous zenfones get updated to lollipop too right?)
[ZenFone 2 General] dahikino:
Asus is working on Android M, I have no doubt about that BUT on which platform?

Arm, yes for sure but Intel.... Mmmmmm where are the so numerous devices and ROM from any OEM using Intel platform

How to say..... It is not so obvious to see coming new version of Android on Intel

---------- Post added at 07:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:48 AM ----------

I mean 5.1.x version
[ZenFone 2 General] Xda909:
I don't really understand some peoples acting here. We bought Android 5.0, we will get at least 5.1, I guess also 6.0. What the problem? Professional development takes time (QS etc...) thats not comparable to custom roms. I like customs but ASUS can't roll out beta software.

My phone runs like hell with 5.0. Battery life is better than on my previous phones. I like...ahh.. I love it!
[ZenFone 2 General] :
Thread cleaned.

Let's post respectfully, or not at all. :good:

Thanks,

Darth

Forum Moderator
[ZenFone 2 General] OfficerJimLahey:
FWIW, A great example of ASUS doing firmware updates right (in my eyes, didn't ask their experience), is the FonePad 7. This is an Intel device with a solid year-and-a-half of updates (released October 2013):

Starting with Jellybean 4.2

Skipped 4.3 (maybe) in favour of Kitkat 4.4

Got Lollipop 5.0 around May of this year (for the WW Sku)

That's two (or three) release upgrades, with a major one thrown in there. So don't give up hope yet. Besides, don't forget the image in the OP, and the translation...

I'm optimistic (up until say, Android 7.0), but it's not the end of the world if it doesn't happen, especially if fixes keep trickling down for the next year (including the plans of taking away some of the bloat noted on the reddit update) and/or the CM team still maintains interest of the device into CM13 (and beyond).
[ZenFone 2 General] ImjuzCY:
Agree. But I don't think we will get till 6.1 if 6.1 is a major upgrade. Major upgrades are now only released once a year in October, meaning that next October we're out of 18 months window.
[ZenFone 2 General] OfficerJimLahey:
True, but from what I recall, Google (Alphabet?) changed the Android versioning rules shortly after Lollipop was released so major upgrades (e.g. once a year) require a full number increment. API upgrades within that time (but still nothing major) increase by a tenth, and point releases go by a hundredth or a smaller measure ("_r#").

No more funky versioning like the past (recent example being the 4.x structure taking 2+ years, and three code names, ICS/JB/KK, to fully increment to 5.x).

But it's all likely an API level won't bump up in that year, so we may just get the point releases (if any of those happen as well - 6.0 may be perfect ;)) until support becomes end-of-life.

EDIT: Updated my earlier post for clarity, since API changes and point releases may or may not happen over the next year.. Meant to say optimistic until the next major release, next October ;)
[ZenFone 2 General] Leftrand:
What about 5.1 ?
[ZenFone 2 General] :
we wont get 5.1 and no news about 6.0 (read carefully what the Asus PR wrote). All major companies started to announce what devices will get 6.0 but not Asus, they are just "working on it" but they wont tell if that include the ZF2 Intel flavor. and since they are still selling the ZF2, it is a little bit strange that they cant even commit to Android M.

But lets just praise Asus and stfu since thats what the people from this board want.

Damn I love my ZF2, its just a phone, but I love it more than mother ;)
[ZenFone 2 General] OfficerJimLahey:
Officially, I think it will get skipped in favour of 6.0 (maybe the memory leak fix wasn't good enough for 5.1 and this device or something else unforgivable). Or maybe, based on the FonePad 7 timing, we could still get 5.1 before Christmas, and then 6.0 around May of next year.

My speculation anyway.
[ZenFone 2 General] Leftrand:
That is good news since we wait too long for 5.1

Memory leak is pain in the ass
[ZenFone 2 General] squo_85:
they are still working on those updates, and working on and on but the time is passing by.

Is there so many work to optimize software to ZenFone device? Some developers just doing it without cash (slim or cm) and they doing this quick, so why then asus cannot do it quick as other producer can do?

If asus think, that we will still be talking about this update, and than just will release Zenfone 3 with Marshmallow and our will receive update 3months later and we still be happy with that, than Asus is in mistake.

So Asus should be more quick and carefull with release the updates, because other producer looks better with this.

I didn't bought this device because it has logo of Asus...
[ZenFone 2 General] ImjuzCY:
Actually CM isn't perfect yet. You see CM12.1 OR 12 haven't reach stable release yet. Although the bug list is getting smaller for our device, but the main CM backbone is still in nightly. Even CM11 is only snapshot version and not "stable" stable.

I'm not stating that CM isn't doing a great job, in fact they are great community, and I sometimes wonder if myself would do something like that with no real benefit to myself. I'm just pointing out that making a stable ROM isn't easy and that's what OEM have to do.
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Thank you so much for being understanding! :)
[ZenFone 2 General] Druboo666:
asus what they did for their privious zenfone is still a milestone for the OEM (my sony ericsson xperia neo v dont even then get a fixed version of ICS they just left it in the middle not even released the source asus is way better thet) and we have a flagship device in our hand and it will definitely will get get android M
[ZenFone 2 General] dakunclear:
The average consumer doesn't care about updates......only thing I want is for them to put 64 bit version on this phone since it's got the processor but we are stuck on a 32 bit OS version
[ZenFone 2 General] Druboo666:
ya i also think we need to have 64 bit android other wise it is just a waste of resources
[ZenFone 2 General] threi_:
People really need to walk into a store and try out other devices from different manufacturers. Doing so really opens your eyes and makes you realise that the software experience on the ZF2 is nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be. Especially when you compare phones in the same price bracket as the zenfone 2. Tried out a LG g3 and was pretty shocked at how poorly it ran (also keep in mind the g3 never got 5.1). Alcatel idol 3, the closest competitor to this phone, also isnt on 5.1 yet, alcatel to my knowledge hasnt announced any android m plans yet, just like asus. the zp2 also runs smoother than that phone (but at least idol 3 doesnt run as badly as g3 on lollipop)

moto phones have been good on updates until recently (coinciding with them being sold to lenovo), and their phones are priced a bit higher than asus and alcatel phones for the hardware.

sony and samsung phones have terrible, overpriced options for the midrange market, and although sony phones provide a decent software experience, you have to deal with touchwiz on samsung devices. and it definitely has an impact. Even the s6 with its beast hardware stutters a lot, which is crazy.

Im not saying all of this to be a "fanboy" of asus. Im still considering selling this phone because i have a huge distrust of the company, they have had a history of shoddy qc in their devices, and i have been burned several times by them. But what i am saying is instead of whining to the heavens how awful everything about the phone is and how asus is the worst company on planet earth because they didnt announce their android m plans the second m got announced...maybe just look around other device forums first. Read up on them a bit. Play with them in stores. You might realize that maybe the grass isnt always greener on the other side.
[ZenFone 2 General] squo_85:
[MENTION=4390446]threi_[/MENTION]

You are hundred percent right!

I was Sony fanboy, but because of price I have ASUS.

I would say I'm happy with it!

Fast, have updates - last update working great on battery.

I like it a lot and I would be happy if update to Android m came quick, not like was with na Sony Xperia Z...
[ZenFone 2 General] kanagawaben:
IIRC in another thread somewhere on this forum, someone with far more knowledge than me explained about this being mistaken thinking. It goes something like this - android is not really an OS, more just a frontend to access the base Linux system. As such, there really is no 64-bit android. On our phone, apps written for 64 bit have access to the 64 bit libraries and run in 64-bit, or something like that. Not sure if I have recalled the details correctly, but the gist was that it is a non-issue.
[ZenFone 2 General] DonMigs85:
I just hope the stuttering performance and incompatibility for some games is fixed.

For example, I discovered that Colin McRae Rally won't even run on the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML, and Angry Birds Go and Asphalt 8 appear to run at sub-HD resolution.
[ZenFone 2 General] ImjuzCY:
I'm not 100% sure if you're right or wrong, but from what I know and from my research, Android have this advantage over iOS on this 64-bit thing. Android is a different version of Linux with Linux backbone, I'm a Ubuntu user, so I see Android as a brother of Ubuntu.

Android run application in a sandbox, called ART, formally dalvik runtime. Unlike iOS, applications in Android don't need to be explicitly rewritten to run at 64-bit because the application is ran in a medium called Android Runtime ART. Only ART have to be recoded to 64-bit to enable apps that run in it to be 64-bit.

In the iOS case, iOS doesn't have something like runtime, so every application have to be written to 64-bit explicitly.

In our case here, Asus is still giving us 32-bit runtime, that's why we're still stuck. You can check by running Geekbench and the result will show you if you're 32-bit or 64-bit
[ZenFone 2 General] Level99:
Not to derail too much from the topic at hand, but there is one definitive, undeniable reason for companies to pay attention to tech fanatics and tinkerers like us here at XDA: our personal relationships. Appeasing us appeases the segment of the marketplace that a lot of less technologically-inclined people come to for opinions when they're lost in a sea of electronic gizmos and gadgets. So, even if the rest of the people don't particularly care about updates (and I'm not convinced that they are, I'm playing devil's advocate to that argument), if updates are what appease the folks who give recommendations to their friends and family about devices, it is in a company's best interest to satisfy that so they can win the good graces of an ever-fickle target demographic.

Having said that, the fact that the company has a representative here trying to communicate effectively between this crowd of Android lovers and the people who actually make some of the decisions at the company who's device we own shows that they care a huge amount about their image and reputation with us. And at that point, I have no doubt in my mind they will continue trying to do right by us with these updates.
[ZenFone 2 General] dudiblah:
I kind of seriously doubt this will happen, I hope I'm wrong. If it does, it will be a day late and a dollar short. If it goes anything like the other major updates to the zenfones. It is not going to look good for us. However android 5.0 is basically vista. You just want it to go away forever.
[ZenFone 2 General] DeckedSpring67:
Are you implying that vista was bad?
[ZenFone 2 General] quicksilver53:
I'm still using Vista.
[ZenFone 2 General] dudiblah:
Yes vista was very bad. I liked the way it looked, but other then that it wasn't too good. I suppose the updates made it better, I used xp until 7 came out, after that I switched to Linux.
[ZenFone 2 General] threi_:
I'd say ICS was more like vista.
[ZenFone 2 General] Calin:
ICS was damn stable :D

Well at least for my old device
[ZenFone 2 General] fenixx1:
To say that many updates is a good or desirable thing, is ridiculous. The only real reason that this market strategy was put forth is because the manufacturer has to maintain you captive. If you are a decent professional developer, you try to put the best posible version of a software out to production. Many updates implies many bugs, bad programming, bad QC, and hastiness.

If you put out 3 updates in a month, there's something very bad happening in your development department.

I see, reading these posts, that many people only write to see their own posts. They don't read, nor think about the issue at hand: the poor development cycle in Asus HQ, and the poor QC. As i told you before, forget about Lollipop 5.1 for this iteration of Zenfone2. If you look the past updates to the platform, plus the updates to the apps (ASUS apps), they only try to beautify them, with minor cosmethic facelifts. Nothing ground breaking, like painting a car a door at a time.

They know perfectly that if they release on one date all the corrections, they wont have anything else to show. Because this is exactly what is they are doing: sending periodic candy to keep us busy discussing about minor updates.

My previous suggestion about boycotting and finding other manufacturers, still applies, this ASUS dont even deserve our time complaining and begging for anything. They have the typical chinese bussiness focus: iterate, sell and forget. Stop feeding bad and (almost) unethical bussiness practices.

as i told before, they are not focusing on the Z00A, so use your phone to the best of your enjoyment, then find other. Theres no excuse to not have 5.1.x on this platform, theres no technical reason at least.

This is my last post about 5.1.x for Zenfone 2. I will keep the eye on the CM development and other fine efforts. ASUS should be ashamed that a group of developers without receiving any money, are doing a better job than their development team.

Nuff said.
[ZenFone 2 General] Calin:
Here is an update guys ;)

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Comp...ow-leaks-includes-Samsung-Sony-and-LG_id74400
[ZenFone 2 General] Kambz1994:
So maybe end of 2015.

---------- Post added at 10:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:24 PM ----------

So maybe the end of 2015.
[ZenFone 2 General] dudiblah:
As much as I would love to see that, I'm still placing my bets on CM.
[ZenFone 2 General] Rappala:
I just saw this on ZenTalk:

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/10/06/8bae10787809a5294e29d81f04dc50e4.jpg

[MENTION=6922370]ASUS_Khang[/MENTION] can you confirm that?
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
The article that mentions this, which was featured on PhoneArena is NOT official from ASUS HQ. I would take anything you see there with a grain of salt. However, I had a VERY LONG discussion with our team last night about how the community would appreciate transparency and providing an estimated timeline of updates and progress status for all devices would be helpful for everyone. Trust - I went on for at least 40 minutes about this community and how everyone here should be considered very important for our business. I don't know if it'll help, but I have been very vocal about this to the team and I hope this helps us.
[ZenFone 2 General] Rappala:
I hope too. I'm very grateful for the work you've been doing. It's great that we have you for noticing our existence to ASUS HQ.

Thanks again :good: :good:
[ZenFone 2 General] gontie:
Thanks, you did well your job, i hope some others in Asus will do it too ;)
[ZenFone 2 General] livewire168:
[MENTION=6922370]ASUS_Khang[/MENTION]. Being a official spokesperson of asus and in your own personal opinion as you are more closed to hq than any of us. I would just like to confirm if we have the same thoughts that zf2 or maybe any second gen Zf would most probably get android m and that Asus might not give android m to 1st Gen.

Forgive my question as I own both generation phone but I'd like to hear just your personal opinion off the record.

Thanks.
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
I see you messaged me as well. :)

(Just so people have visibility on our conversation) I've been asking our team at HQ to provide a roadmap of updates for ZenFones. I think it's in their best interest to release that information considering our competitors have done the same. There are many other people that I need to talk to who are on the team responsible for the lifecycle of our devices so I'm going to try to speak with them ASAP. Please stay patient everyone!
[ZenFone 2 General] livewire168:
Thank you for your quick reply. Much appreciated. I do hope your counterparts share the same sentiment as you do. It's quite hard expecting blindly, expecially when competitors are already announcing plans for android m upgrades on their flagship and some other older models.

Keep us posted sir and again thanks.
[ZenFone 2 General] dahikino:
Is ASUS_Khang working for Asus interest? ..... Mmmmmm

Apart to try to calm down community and try to make people be patient what's more?

Sounds like Asus social manager
[ZenFone 2 General] ASUS_Khang:
Have I been able to help people? I hope so! If I can calm an angry mob down, then I've only done a part of my job. I actually work very closely with the team responsible for ZenUI and have told them of the issues people are experiencing in XDA and Reddit and (though I'm not solely responsible) have helped to reduce the amount of bloatware seen on your devices. The team takes feedback I give them, and is trying to make those changes now. I'm also pushing the HQ team to give us a roadmap of updates, and an official bootloader unlock.

If you feel like I need to do more - let me know! I'll gladly consider your suggestions. :good:
[ZenFone 2 General] dudiblah:
I want that bootloader unlock so bad. I want to fiddle around without voiding my warranty. You are awesome sir. However we will see what they do.
[ZenFone 2 General] tikilou:
Thank you men, honestly i've choosed the Zenfone 2 ze551ml because i'ts the best price/quality rapport actually, intel support usually open source (good force sources & drivers), all parts of device can be buy separatly (the battery is not interchangeable but it's easy to unmount some elements for change it).

This phone have just 3 defaults, the battery drain, bloatwares, and none interoperable PC link apps (work only on native Windows, don't work withe Wine/Crossover, or Windows 7/8.1/10 with Virtualbox, sad :( )

Actually with Cyanogenmod (because it's based on android 5.1), i can tell ZenUI is the best Stock UI/theme i've ever seen (just missing somes apps like MIUI from Xiaomi, for backup/restore all settings/applications/data/contacts/sms/history on internal memory/SDcard), and apps Asus are very good, your team do a great job, hardware AND software :)

I've see the same for my laptop (asus UX32VD), and motherboard for my server@home (Design, and Ergonomic UEFI interface.)
[ZenFone 2 General] Kaleidosc0pe:
[MENTION=3233701]tikilou[/MENTION]

Feeling like you speak out of my soul :)
[ZenFone 2 General] ImjuzCY:
No actually even if Asus let you officially unlock it's bootloader, it wouldn't let you do it without voiding your warranty. So either way you still lose your warranty in exchange for unlocked bootloader. Moreover, if you unlock it the official way, Asus will have a record of your IMEI and you will not able to cheat them with their computer system. In the other hand, if you unlock with the unofficial way, they won't have a record and you MAY be able to cheat warranty status.

I'm not pushing you to unlock bootloader with the unofficial way, I'm just stating the possibility. If you can live with locked bootloader, wait until the warranty expire.