NVIDIA is rolling out a new OTA for its SHIELD Tablet K1 today, the first one in a few months. This device has been running Marshmallow since last year, but there's still room for improvement. The 1.3 update adds compatibility with Android 6.0's professional audio requirements, better control of nav button position, and more.
Here's the full changelog from NVIDIA.
- SHIELD Tablet K1 now meets Android 6.0 Professional Audio requirements, including:
- Low Latency Audio (<20ms continuous round trip)
- USB Host & Peripheral modes
- 24-bit@192kHz Stereo & 7.1 HDMI output
- MIDI support over USB & Bluetooth LE
- Option to toggle Navigation Button location (Settings > Personalize Settings)
- Enhancements & fixes to Vulkan™ API
- Improvements to touch responsiveness
- Fixes to WiFi & Bluetooth connectivity
- Update to Android 6.0 Security Patch Level June 1, 2016
- Overall stability and additional security improvements
Android has long had issues with audio latency and quality, but some devices have improved dramatically in the last few years. In Android 6.0, Google added a section to the Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) explaining requirements for so-called "Professional Audio." That's what NVIDIA now supports on the SHIELD Tablet K1 following this update.
The other notable change is the addition of a toggle in the settings to choose whether you want split or centered navigation buttons. This is the only device other than the Pixel C that even offers split mode as an option. Everything else falls into the improvement and bug fix category. The update should start appearing on devices today, but there's no word on an update for the original SHIELD Tablet.
Source: NVIDIA