Since iOS 26, iPados 26 and Macos Tahoe, Safari has been using the new Liquid Glass. This ensures that the display is more minimalist than ever, which can also be seen in the tabs and address bar. Apple has chosen to merge these two elements into one compact display.
During scrolling, the buttons and tabbeam reduces a narrow beam with only the URL address, so that your screen becomes less distracted. Do you miss the familiar safari design of iOS 18? Then you can restore the old layout so that you have access to multiple buttons in Safari.
Return old safari layout
Do you miss the familiar safari design of iOS 18? Then you have the option to return to the old layout for Apple’s Web Browser under iOS 26 and iPados 26. You can easily put the compact display back to the old layout.
iOS 26 and iPados 26 offers three layout options for safari on iPhone and iPad: compact (standard), below and above. As a user you can decide for yourself which view you set for Safari. This freedom of choice is a lesson from earlier criticism of earlier layouts in, among others, iOS 15.
Safari layout
- Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad
- Go to ‘Apps’
- Tap ‘Safari’
- Then make a choice with ‘tabs’;
Compact: All buttons are bundled behind a new menu button, so that the screen is almost entirely for web pages. You only get to see extra buttons when you tap, which makes Safari look even more minimalist and leaves extra room for content. This gives you more space in Safari, but it requires more ticking.
Under or above: These are the familiar representations, but with the new design. At ‘Under’ the address bar is at the bottom of the screen and functions as a compact tabbar, while ‘above’ offers the classic display with the address bar at the top and a button bar at the bottom.
Safari display for Mac
On the Mac, the compact layout has just disappeared since Safari 26 (part of MacOS Tahoe, among others). There you have the ‘floating’ tabs directly under the address and search bar. The tabs are rounded, seem to float above the button bar and can be rearranged more easily.
The navigation column has been redesigned for faster access to iCloud tabs and stored items such as bookmarks. This new layout makes everything immediately accessible and ensures that browsing with many tabs, favorites and tools is clearer, without filling the screen.
Safari color tabbeam
In addition to the design, the color of the tabbeam has been adjusted. This function, which was already in earlier iOS, iPados and macOS updates, has been switched on again from Safari 26. The tabbeam automatically gets the color of the webpage visited, but you can disable this.
Open Settings ▸ Apps ▸ Safari ▸ Tabs and switch off the ‘Apply colors of websites’ option. Open your Safari on a Mac and click on Safari ▸ Settings ▸ Tabs ▸ In the menu bar ▸ Use the ‘Show color in tabbar’ option in ‘display’.