Android 6.0 Marshmallow is now off the developer builds and officially available as a ‘final’ version in the factory image form for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus Player and Nexus 9. The one exception that will confuse some is that the Nexus 7 2012 is not supported and therefore if you have that device, you cannot flash Marshmallow.

The one feature you don’t want to miss with this software update is the new Now on Tap feature that comes as part of Google Now. Although the Now on Tap feature is the one highlight feature of Marshmallow, users will still find plenty of changes. Toward the top of most people’s lists should be just the basic usability, as this version will likely be an even smoother experience than each of its predecessors in usual Android fashion. There’s no denying Jelly Bean was a step up from Gingerbread, KitKat was an improvement over Jelly Bean, Lollipop was a leap up from KitKat and now Marshmallow will take things to new levels yet again. It might take a few minor updates to iron out the kinks with small bugs first, but after that it should be a rarity to find anyone preferring to run with Lollipop.

Installing Android 6.0 on Mac

1. Unzip the downloaded Android 6.0 Marshmallow package.
2. You must install ADB and Fastboot on your Mac. We only have the guide for Windows, but you can paste this code into the terminal to get yours:  bash <(curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/corbindavenport/nexus-tools/master/install.sh)
3. Open the folder where you downloaded and extracted the Android 6.0 Marshmallow stock ROM.
4. Right-click the mouse over that folder and choose the New Terminal at Folder from the new menu that pops out.
5. If you don’t have the bootloader unlocked, you must unlock it by opening a new terminal window. Now type this command: ‘adb reboot bootloader’.
6. Now type the second command: ‘fastboot oem unlock’.
7. If you cannot get the commands to work, remember to press the Enter key on the keyboard to confirm the command. Now everyone should have an unlocked bootloader.
8. Long-press the Power button to turn off the device.
9. Reboot the Nexus device holding the Volume Up, Volume Down and Power buttons at the same time.
10. Wait until the device now gets in Fastboot mode.
11. Paste this new code into the terminal window: ‘sudo ./flash-all.sh’.
12. Now the Android 6.0 Marshmallow software update will officially install on your device so long as it’s still connected to the Mac computer with the USB cable.

Installing Android 6.0 on Windows

1. Download the 15 second ADB installer from here.
2. Download the Android 6.0 Marshmallow factory image on your Windows PC.
3. Right-click over the over the tool as choose to run it as an administrator.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish settings up the ADB installer. Click the ‘Y’ button on the keyboard when it asks you if you want to install the drivers.
5. Right-click and hold down the Shift key and choose to open a new command prompt window.
6. Type this command: ‘adb reboot bootloader’ in the window and press Enter.
7. Type this next command and press Enter: ‘fastboot oem unlock’.
8. Unzip the Android 6.0 Marshmallow file and run the flash-all.bat file.
9. Android 6.0 Marshmallow will now install on your choice of Nexus device.

Now both Mac and Windows users should have the latest Marshmallow software update fully installed on the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9 and Nexus Player smartphones and tablet.