Fragmentation has dogged Android throughout its history, and the new release 6.0 (aka Marshmallow) only partly addresses the issue. It does provide Google with better abilities to push updates directly to end users, rather than waiting for MNOs to do so – their reluctance to upgrade their devices has been a major reason for the user base to be split between several new and legacy releases, to the frustration of developers and Google. But these tweaks are not enough to prevent the Android ecosystem from fracturing into many distinct pieces, or even forking entirely – after all, Google can only control access to its apps, and use frameworks like the Open Handset Alliance to try to unify the user experience,…