Nexus 4 gets unofficial build of latest Android version

Google’s recently released Android 6.0 Marshmallow upgrade has left the owners of older Nexus devices dejected as devices such as Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 failed to make the list, meaning they will be stuck on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.

However, the owners of Nexus 4 should not be disheartened yet, as the unofficial build of the latest Android version is now available. A developer, Dmitry Grinberg, has published a modified Marshmallow operating system image, which is part of Android Open Source Project (AOSP), on his website.

Due to high demand at the moment, users might have to wait to get their hands on the image download. 9to5 Google says that mirrors are also available in the Reddit thread, but it is advisable to avoid these.

As the hardware specifications of Nexus 4 are not too dissimilar to the Nexus 7, the former should be capable of running Android 6.0, said Android Headlines. It added that users must bear in mind a few things before considering installing Android Marshmallow:

• Firstly, Dmitry does not provide the Google application suite so users will need to find and flash these to the device.
• Secondly, as users would be installing an unofficial ROM onto an older device, it could cause undesirable effects. Early reports from Reddit users point to some instability running the Marshmallow ROM such as when browsing the web or accessing the GPS.

“You're on your own for GApps. I have no advice or suggestions on that topic”, Grinberg said in one of the comments posted on the website.