Since iOS 26, Safari uses the new Liquid Glass. This ensures that the display is more minimalistic than ever, which is also reflected in the tabs and address bar. Apple has chosen to merge these two elements into one compact display.
While scrolling, the button and tab bar shrinks to a narrow bar with just the URL address, so your screen becomes less distracted. You can restore the old Safari view or try to get used to the new interface. In that case, we have a handy trick to quickly open the tab overview.
Compact view in Safari
Since iOS 26, Safari uses a compact view by default. All buttons are bundled behind a new menu button, so the screen is almost entirely dedicated to web pages. You only see extra buttons when you tap them, which makes Safari look even more minimalistic and leaves extra room for content. This will give you more space in Safari, but it will require more taps.
Trick to open tab overview
Using the tab overview, you can view all open and pinned tabs in Safari. You can consult the overview by tapping on the three dots next to the address bar and then choosing ‘All tabs’. Do you want to quickly open the overview? Then tap double on the three dots and immediately the tab overview opens.
More useful Safari tips
This isn’t the only trick you can use in the new compact view in Safari. Place your finger on the three dots next to the address bar, hold it on the screen and wait a few moments. The menu opens; now swipe your finger up without lifting it to the desired option in the list.
And do you want to quickly share a website? Then place your finger on the address bar, wait a moment and choose ‘Share’. You can also do this with the hold-and-swipe gesture mentioned earlier.