Marshmallow is now out for the LG G3 on AT&T and T-Mobile

Although Google has already started testing Android N with developers, Android handset makers are still busy updating their wares to Marshmallow. Case in point: LG, and its G3. The flagship smartphone from 2014 is now receiving the update to Android 6.0 Marshmallow both on AT&T and T-Mobile, according to multiple reports from owners.

T-Mobile's model isn't currently enjoying an over-the-air rollout of the update, so to download and install it you'll need to use LG's desktop software. Even so, the new release may not yet show as being available for everyone.

If you bought your G3 from AT&T, then you can check for the update by going to the phone's settings and hopefully grab it over-the-air. If you do succeed in updating, you'll then be on software version D85030k, as you can see from the screenshots above.

The update also includes the March security patches, but unfortunately not this month's. Another interesting tidbit is that this is Android 6.0, and not Android 6.0.1 - even though that iteration has been out since last November. Hopefully LG will issue another Marshmallow update for the G3 in the future, bringing it up to date.

New Nexus 6P version gets benchmarked with Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM

Earlier today we once again heard that HTC is the company in charge of building this year's two Nexus-branded smartphones for Google. And now it looks like one of them may have just been spotted in a benchmark's database.

An intriguing entry for "google Nexus 6P" is available in Geekbench's online score browser. The name is pretty much identical to the Huawei-made device that's been announced last year, but this Nexus 6P has different hardware.

Namely, it's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 chipset (not the 810 like the 2015 model), and it comes with 4GB of RAM (up from 3 on the existing Nexus 6P). The prototype that's been benchmarked was running Android N at the time, which makes perfect sense considering that Google has already released the first two developer previews for that version of its mobile OS.

It seems entirely plausible that Google will stick with the Nexus 6P moniker for this year's Nexus phablet, just changing the hardware and the company manufacturing it. So this might be an HTC-made product, as rumors have been saying for a while. On the other hand, perhaps Huawei and Google are simply working on a minor spec refresh for the existing Nexus 6P, changing the SoC used and the RAM amount. If this is the case, then the upgraded phone could be made official at Google I/O next month.

Schematic details the iPhone Pro with dual-camera, Smart Connector

With the 4" iPhone SE out of the gate, the rumor mill turns its attention back to the 5.8" iPhone Pro. A schematic (probably unofficial) shows the dimensions of the rumored Apple flagship.

The schematic clearly shows the wider camera assembly - info so far points to a dual-camera setup. Will it be like the LG G5 (wide + narrow) or the Huawei P9 (color + monochrome)? That's unknown at the moment.

Another interesting feature on the back is the Smart Connector. Apple debuted the three-pin connector with the iPad Pro and while it allows advanced functionality like connecting a keyboard, it can be used just for charging (like Logitech does). This could enable slightly more compact battery cases for the iPhone Pro.

One key detail that the schematic doesn't show is the release date - if we had to guess, we'd see the iPhone Pro at Apple's September event. Until then, you can enjoy these 3D renders(based on rumors).

Motorola sets event for May 17, likely to present the Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus

Motorola has sent out press invites for its May 17 event in New Delhi. There, the company is expected to unveil the highly anticipated Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus. The Moto G (3rd gen) was announced in July 2015 making us even more certain the G4 duo will come to light.

According to rumors, the Moto G4 will feature a 5.5" display of 1080p resolution. The Snapdragon 410 chipset of the old Moto G will be replaced by an octa-core CPU according to hearsay. RAM is reportedly 2GB

The design of the phone is evolved from the previous generation and now has a metal-looking frame, although it's not yet confirmed. What we do know is that there's a fingerprint reader on the Moto G4 Plus.

Huawei Honor 5C is official with a Kirin 650 SoC and 5.2" FullHD display

The Honor 5C has just been made official in China. The latest from Huawei's sub-brand has a lot in common with the yet unannounced P9 lite, for a price it's unlikely to match.

The specsheet starts with a 5.2-inch IPS LCD with FullHD resolution. An in-house Kirin 650 chipset does the number-crunching with an octa-core CPU (4xCortex-A53@2.0GHz + 4xCortex-A53@1.7GHz), paired with 2GB of RAM. Onboard storage is 16GB, expandable by up to 128GB.

Imaging is taken care by a 13MP primary shooter with an f/2.0 lens, aided in the dark by a single LED flash. On the front you get an 8MP cam with an f/2.0 aperture lens. There's also the now-mandatory fingerprint sensor on the device's back.

The Honor 5C has dual-SIM support and good all-round connectivity suite with multi-band 2G/3G and Cat.6 LTE (4G version only) for speeds up to 300Mbps down, and 50Mbps up. Bluetooth is v4.1, there's Wi-Fi b/g/n (no Wi-Fi ac), GPS, GLONASS and Beidou for satellite positioning and there's also an FM radio receiver.

The handset measures 147.1 x 73.8 x 8.3mm and weighs 156g, while packing a 3,000mAh battery - 9g more than the sleeker P9 lite for the same capacity. It also lacks the mini-flagship's Type-C connection and sticks to microUSB 2.0. The smartphone comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow on board, with a proprietary EMUI overlay on top, version 4.1 this time.

Available today in China, the Honor 5C costs CNY 899 ($139) for the 3G-only model, while 4G-enabled versions command a CNY 100 premium. Global availability remains to be detailed.

Samsung says Gear VR users have already consumed over 2 million hours of VR content

Samsung has revealed that users of its Gear VR headset have already consumed more than 2 million hours of virtual reality content thus far. The revelation was made by John Pleasants, the company's executive VP of Media Solutions, at SDC 2016.

If you calculate, that translates into over 228 years of continuous watching. And given that Samsung is one of the many players in the market, it does give an idea about the kind of interest consumers are having in the VR space.

This comes just a day after the South Korean company confirmed that it's working on a standalone virtual reality headset - one that doesn't rely on a smartphone, PC, or a gaming console to function.

Update to Apple Music for Android brings music video support

Apple has updated its Apple Music app on Android, bumping it to version 0.9.8. The update brings support for music videos as well as family subscription option.

"You can now enjoy thousands of music videos on Apple Music—view popular ones featured in New or search for the music videos from your favorite artists," the Cupertino-based company says in the change-log.

As for the Family Membership, it costs around $15 a month and allows up to six members of a family to enjoy the streaming music service together.

BBM for Android gains beta video chat support, coming soon to iOS

The latest update of BBM for Android, which should already be out in the Play Store, brings with it a much-requested feature: video chats. BBM has had support for video calls on BlackBerry OS 10, but this is now finally making its way to the two big mobile platforms - a release for iOS is apparently coming soon.

Over in the Android app, the video chat functionality is still in beta, and marked as such. Hence, some hiccups may occur. Also, to make sure nothing will break with its backend infrastructure, BlackBerry is currently limiting the rollout of the new feature to the US and Canada. All the kinks should be ironed out before the global rollout commences. That, by the way, is going to happen in July.

Until then, you can test video calling inside BBM (even cross-platform), but only in North America. It all works in a very simple manner - when you tap the icon to initiate a call with one of your contacts, the app will ask you if you want to make a voice call or a video call. You choose, and then you're connected. That's it. Obviously, for this to work the contact you want to video chat with also has to have the latest version of BBM.

Google Photos for Android receives new search bar, other useful additions

The Google Photos app for Android is in the process of receiving a new update today. Version 1.19 should already be available in the Google Play Store, and it comes with a few new features.

First off, there's now a dedicated search bar at the top of the app. This replaces the search floating action button that used to be found in the bottom right side of the app. The search bar lets you find things more easily, and if you tap on it and then scroll down you'll get a list of faces, places, and picture types from your library.

From this point on, you can customize the movies that Google Photos automatically creates for you. You can add your own music, images, and videos, in order to fine tune the movies that the app pops up after your holidays or trips.

Lastly, device folders you've created can be deleted or renamed. Managing photos on SD cards is also better, with support for adding folders, as well as copying and moving images. All of these features are coming soon to Google Photos for iOS.

HP's new Chromebook 13 is thin and made out of brushed aluminum

HP has unveiled a new Chromebook today. It's called HP Chromebook 13 and was apparently designed in partnership with Google. That kind of shows when you look at it, as its brushed aluminum construction and 12.9mm thinness pretty much scream "high-end".

That said, the Chromebook 13 is more of a Chromebook Pixel for the masses, as it starts at just $499. At that price you do get the looks, but only a measly Pentium processor.

If you can pay more, then you'll get a choice of Core m3, m5, or m7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 3,200x1,800 resolution for the 13.3-inch non-touch display. HP quotes 11.5 hours of battery life, which is similar to what Apple's new MacBook achieves (and it too uses Intel's Core m).

The HP Chromebook 13 sports two USB Type-C ports, one plain old USB 3.0, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. It weighs 1.29kg. It will become available at some point in May, with pre-orders opening today.

Xiaomi smartwatch coming in H2 2016

Back in March last year, there were reports out of China that Xiaomi is working on its own smartwatch, although no availability details were revealed at that time. Then, there we rerumors that it will be unveiled at an event in November - that, we all know, didn't happen.

Now, for the first time, Xiaomi has confirmed the existence of the wearable device. The confirmation came from the company's co-founder and VP Liu De, who also revealed that the smartwatch will be made official in the second half of this year.

Sadly, he didn't reveal a specific launch date/month as well as any specs and pricing-related information. If you recall, previous rumors suggested a round dial and a brushed metal design. In addition, the watch is said to offer pulse wave velocity identification feature.

Samsung confirms it's working on standalone VR headset

At its ongoing developer conference, Samsung confirmed that it's working on a standalone virtual reality headset - one that doesn't rely on a smartphone, PC, or a gaming console to function.

Image credit: Shara Tibken/CNET

The confirmation came from the South Korean company's head of R&D, Injong Rhee, who said that the device will feature positional tracking. He also noted that features like hand and gesture tracking for the headset are currently being explored, and could be supported in the future.

The company's aim is to create a Star Trek-type holodeck. "You enter a holodeck, you're actually in a virtual world, interacting with all the virtual objects as if you're living there," Rhee said. "That's the kind of reality we're trying to create on these virtual-reality headsets."

It's worth mentioning that there have already been reports that Google is also developing a standalone VR headset.