Three key features of Google's new operating system Android 'M'

Google on Thursday offered a preview of the latest version of its operating system Android M, due for release later this year, with a number of innovative features to make the smartphone smarter.

Here's a closer look at some of the key features in the upcoming Android upgrade, currently known simply as "M":

• NOW ON TAP:  Google Now currently learns a user's interests and habits by analyzing search requests and scanning emails. With the M upgrade, users will be able to summon Google Now to scan whatever content might be on a mobile device's screen so it can present pertinent information about the topic of a text, a song, a video clip or an article. The new Android feature, called "Now on Tap," will be activated by holding down the device's home button or speaking, "OK Google," into the microphone. That action will prompt Now on Tap to scan the screen in attempt to figure out how to be the most helpful.
• MOBILE PAYMENT DO-OVER:  Android M will include an alternative to the mobile payment system that Apple introduced last year. Like Apple's system, Android Pay can be used to store major credit and debit cards in smartphones that can be used to pay merchants equipped with terminals that work with the technology. Android Pay will also work on devices running on the KitKat and Lollipop versions of Android released the past two years.
• PROTECTING PRIVACY: Android M will be compatible with fingerprint scanners so device users can verify their identities by pressing a button instead of entering a passcode. Besides supporting fingerprint scanners, Android M will make it easier to users to prevent mobile applications from grabbing their personal information.