Rejoice, Xposed users! The Xposed framework for Android 6.0 Marshmallow is now available, but if you have a Samsung or a Sony device, you may want to make a backup first as some users have already reported issues.
For the uninitiated, Xposed is a framework used by modules that can change the behavior of the system and apps without touching the APKs. This proves favorable and efficient since only the modules will need tweaking and the entire system, along with the affected apps, can be left untouched. Moreover, once the module gets deactivated and the system reboots, the phone will be restored to how it was prior to the module's incorporation.
On an XDA forum post dated Nov. 14, Xposed developer rovo89 announced that version 76 of the framework, which has support for Android 6.0 Marshmallow, has been released. The developer notes that even though the framework was only tested on one device, it should work fine for the rest.
"Even though I tested it only on my Nexus 9/arm64, I'm confident that the arm and x86 builds will work fine as well," explains rovo89. "The Xposed Installer app didn't require any changes, you can still use version 3.0 alpha4."
The developer goes on to state that the upgrade to Android 6.0 from Android 5.1 is much bigger than the 5.0 to 5.1, which is to be expected anyway. It is also more complicated to port Xposed-related changes in ART but with Google's refactoring, rovo89 was also able to simplify the changes. Except for the support for encrypted and gzipped files, the Android developer was able to port most of the essentials.
Users who are eager to install the new framework version should first inform themselves of the following limitations specified by the developer:
1. It was only tested on a system that has SuperSu installed and thus, some SELinux and dm-verity rules are disabled.
2. There is yet to be a workaround for SELinux's possible access restrictions to preferences files.
3. Some Xposed APIs were not tested. The developer notes that while there are no error messages when booting up, some functions that Xposed brings about may need to be adjusted to work with Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
4. Modules might also need to be updated because of the changes done in the AOSP (Android Open Source Project).
5. Issues may come up from the optimizing compiler and JIT (Just In Time) compiler, which, in lieu of efficiency, rewrites the apps' code and skips some calls. At worst, the issue can cause crashes. Concrete observed issues will be thoroughly looked into.
A note of warning: According to Android Authority, some Sony and Samsung handset users have reported bootlooping issues. However, if that does not concern you, proceed and download the installer.
