Chrome for Android No Longer Merging Apps and Tabs by Default

Chrome for Android received an update earlier this month which brought new features to the browser. Another change has now been spotted, which removes the default setting of merging apps and browser tabs in the Android app switcher.

Spotted first by Android Central, the new Chrome 49 for Android lists the "Merge tabs and apps" option as disabled by default, and this means that Chrome tabs will no longer show up alongside others apps when a user hits Recent apps button on the Android device.

Users however have the option either enable or disable the option to "Merge tabs and apps" via Chrome's Settings. Notably, Google introduced the merge option in Android Lollipop which allowed Chrome tabs to appear alongside other apps.

It's worth noting that the minor change is not very significant and will not be noticed by users who already use Chrome browser for Android. In a report, Android Central explains, "If you're setting up Chrome on a phone for the first time, you'll start off with the old-style in-app tab switcher."

The report further adds that the change will be available to all users currently on Android Lollipop, Android Marshmallow, and the new build of Android N.

On Android, the Google Chrome version 49 brought improvements to background sync with the Background Sync API. Chrome 49 for Android also added notifications for nearby smart beacons, which came as a result of collaboration between Google's beacon platform and Nearby API.

Flexible Camera Developed That Can Be Wrapped Around Objects

A team led by an Indian-origin professor at Columbia University has created a novel sheet camera that can be wrapped around everyday objects to capture images that cannot be taken with one or more conventional cameras. "Cameras today capture the world from essentially a single point in space. While the camera industry has made remarkable progress in shrinking the camera to a tiny device with ever increasing imaging quality, we are exploring a radically different approach to imaging," said Shree K Nayar, computer science professor at Columbia University. "We believe there are numerous applications for cameras that are large in format but very thin and highly flexible," added Nayar who graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, in 1984. Nayar's team designed and fabricated a flexible lens array that adapts its optical properties when the sheet camera is bent. This optical adaptation enables the device to produce high quality images over a wide ...

Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo back Apple in its fight over encryption with FBI

The nation's leading tech companies joined security experts, independent programmers and civil liberties advocates who filed court papers backing Apple in its fight with the FBI over an encrypted iPhone used by an extremist killer. Several law enforcement groups, meanwhile, filed briefs in support of federal authorities who are seeking Apple's help in hacking an encrypted iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino mass shooters. These "friend of the court" briefs come in advance of a March 22 hearing in which Apple is asking U.S. Magistrate Sheri Pym to reverse an order requiring Apple to create a software program that overrides iPhone security features. That program would let authorities try to unlock Farook's phone by guessing its passcode; Apple says it would make all other iPhones more vulnerable to future attacks. Relatives of five people who were killed, along with one survivor of the December 2 attack, also filed a brief saying the FBI's ...

Samsung Galaxy S7: 5 Features That Stand Out

Klutzes of the world should rejoice Friday, as Samsung officially starts sales of its new water-resistant Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The phones, which the company first unveiled last month, are now widely available in all their dunkable glory. The latest two Samsung's high-end smartphones are supposed to be able to withstand submersion up to five feet for as long as 30 minutes. So you're in luck if you drop your phone in the drink - as long as you fish it out reasonably fast. Samsung provided me with a review unit of the Galaxy S7, a 5.1-inch smartphone. Once I opened the box, I duly dropped the high-performance, expensive phone into my sink while doing the dishes. Apart from the mild palpitations I gave myself, there was no damage at all. The phone's touchscreen didn't work under water, but it continued on without a hiccup and was unharmed and still working perfectly when I pulled it out. It was just as impressively zippy as ever and no worse for ...

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