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Software

New Chrome iOS update targets the Internet of Things

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The days of faffing around with different menus and buttons to navigate your web browser are finally over, with a simple swipe interface. Surfing the web on Chrome has never been so pleasurable. The only slight snag is that the swiping navigation only works if you’re on the same tab.

Also in this version of Chrome, Google has provided support for its physical web project enabling smart devices such as parking metres, bus stops and stadiums to communicate directly with a smartphone without using an app.

Google’s theory is that you should be able to walk up to a vending machine or a bus stop and be able to access info on that device straight away, without clogging up your iPhone with apps you’ll only use once.

It is only a development project at the moment so you’ll have to wait before you can use Chrome 44 with everyday smart devices. The swipe navigation however is definitely ready to roll.

Now you can see how much Google stalks you

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If you've got Google's location history turned on (which you almost certainly will have) you can open Maps and see how your location is tracked in real time; go to the innocently-named Real-time routines option in the sidebar menu. In a desktop browser, go to Options > My Places > Your timeline.

If you want to disable Google's collection of your personal location data, go to My Account – there you can easily access and manage your Location History setting alongside all your other Google settings

Most useful for those times you've got an expenses receipt you can't remember or for a late night out. But we can think of some other, more illicit ways it could end up being used…

Your Timeline: Revisiting the world that you’ve explored | Google Maps Blog

iOS 9 and Mac OS X El Capitan public betas released

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Sign up to the Apple beta programme on the Apple website and you’ll be able to get on-board with the betas very soon.

You don’t need any special knowledge or developer credentials to use the betas of iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. However, you probably will need patience.

While Apple clearly thinks these bits of software are stable enough for the public already, they’re still going to be far from bug-free. “Please keep in mind that you should not install beta software on production or business-critical systems,” is Apple’s sound advice.

There are definitely a few interesting new features worth checking out, though. iOS 9 gets a battery saver mode for the first time, along with new Siri powers that give the digital assistant more uses. She’ll be able to search content with apps: pretty smart.  

OS X El Capitan offers new a multi-tasking style, takingcues from mobile phones in giving you a split-screen dual app view. Safari and the Notes app get a pretty deep redesign too – check out our El Capitan image gallery. 

In US lingo, full releases of OS X El Capitan and iOS 9 are expected in the “fall”. That’s likely to mean they arrive in September, when Apple’s new iPhones are usually unveiled.

Check out our full details roundup of iOS 9 features.