safari tabs layout

iPhone User Guide

• iPhone models compatible with iOS 17
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• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2nd generation)
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (3rd generation)
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• Setup basics
• Make your iPhone your own
• Take great photos and videos
• Keep in touch with friends and family
• Share features with your family
• Use iPhone for your daily routines
• Expert advice from Apple Support
• What’s new in iOS 17
• Turn on and set up iPhone
• Wake and unlock
• Set up cellular service
• Use Dual SIM
• Connect to the internet
• Sign in with Apple ID
• Subscribe to iCloud+
• Find settings
• Set up mail, contacts, and calendar accounts
• Learn the meaning of the status icons
• Charge the battery
• Charge with cleaner energy sources
• Show the battery percentage
• Check battery health and usage
• Use Low Power Mode
• Read and bookmark the user guide
• Learn basic gestures
• Learn gestures for iPhone models with Face ID
• Adjust the volume
• Find your apps in App Library
• Switch between open apps
• Quit and reopen an app
• Multitask with Picture in Picture
• Access features from the Lock Screen
• View Live Activities in the Dynamic Island
• Perform quick actions
• Search on iPhone
• Get information about your iPhone
• View or change cellular data settings
• Travel with iPhone
• Change sounds and vibrations
• Use the Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
• Create a custom Lock Screen
• Change the wallpaper
• Adjust the screen brightness and color balance
• Keep the iPhone display on longer
• Use StandBy
• Customize the text size and zoom setting
• Change the name of your iPhone
• Change the date and time
• Change the language and region
• Organize your apps in folders
• Add, edit, and remove widgets
• Move apps and widgets on the Home Screen
• Remove apps
• Use and customize Control Center
• Change or lock the screen orientation
• View and respond to notifications
• Change notification settings
• Set up a Focus
• Allow or silence notifications for a Focus
• Turn a Focus on or off
• Stay focused while driving
• Customize sharing options
• Type with the onscreen keyboard
• Dictate text
• Select and edit text
• Use predictive text
• Use text replacements
• Add or change keyboards
• Add emoji and stickers
• Take a screenshot
• Take a screen recording
• Draw in documents
• Add text, shapes, signatures, and more
• Fill out forms and sign documents
• Use Live Text to interact with content in a photo or video
• Use Visual Look Up to identify objects in your photos and videos
• Lift a subject from the photo background
• Subscribe to Apple Arcade
• Play with friends in Game Center
• Connect a game controller
• Use App Clips
• Update apps
• View or cancel subscriptions
• Manage purchases, settings, and restrictions
• Install and manage fonts
• Buy books and audiobooks
• Annotate books
• Access books on other Apple devices
• Listen to audiobooks
• Set reading goals
• Organize books
• Create and edit events in Calendar
• Send invitations
• Reply to invitations
• Change how you view events
• Search for events
• Change calendar and event settings
• Schedule or display events in a different time zone
• Keep track of events
• Use multiple calendars
• Use the Holidays calendar
• Share iCloud calendars
• Camera basics
• Set up your shot
• Apply Photographic Styles
• Take Live Photos
• Take Burst mode shots
• Take a selfie
• Take panoramic photos
• Take macro photos and videos
• Take portraits
• Take Night mode photos
• Take Apple ProRAW photos
• Adjust the shutter volume
• Adjust HDR camera settings
• Record videos
• Record spatial videos for Apple Vision Pro
• Record ProRes videos
• Record videos in Cinematic mode
• Change video recording settings
• Save camera settings
• Customize the Main camera lens
• Change advanced camera settings
• View, share, and print photos
• Use Live Text
• Scan a QR code
• See the world clock
• Set an alarm
• Change the next wake up alarm
• Use the stopwatch
• Use multiple timers
• Add and use contact information
• Edit contacts
• Add your contact info
• Use NameDrop on iPhone to share your contact info
• Use other contact accounts
• Use Contacts from the Phone app
• Merge or hide duplicate contacts
• Export contacts
• Get started with FaceTime
• Make FaceTime calls
• Receive FaceTime calls
• Create a FaceTime link
• Take a Live Photo
• Turn on Live Captions in a FaceTime call
• Use other apps during a call
• Make a Group FaceTime call
• View participants in a grid
• Use SharePlay to watch, listen, and play together
• Share your screen in a FaceTime call
• Collaborate on a document in FaceTime
• Use video conferencing features
• Hand off a FaceTime call to another Apple device
• Change the FaceTime video settings
• Change the FaceTime audio settings
• Change your appearance
• Leave a call or switch to Messages
• Block unwanted callers
• Report a call as spam
• Connect external devices or servers
• Modify files, folders, and downloads
• Search for files and folders
• Organize files and folders
• Set up iCloud Drive
• Share files and folders in iCloud Drive
• Share your location
• Meet up with a friend
• Send your location via satellite
• Add or remove a friend
• Locate a friend
• Get notified when friends change their location
• Notify a friend when your location changes
• Add your iPhone
• Add your iPhone Wallet with MagSafe
• Get notified if you leave a device behind
• Locate a device
• Mark a device as lost
• Erase a device
• Remove a device
• Add an AirTag
• Share an AirTag or other item in Find My on iPhone
• Add a third-party item
• Get notified if you leave an item behind
• Locate an item
• Mark an item as lost
• Remove an item
• Adjust map settings
• Get started with Fitness
• Track daily activity and change your move goal
• See your activity summary
• Sync a third-party workout app
• Change fitness notifications
• Share your activity
• Subscribe to Apple Fitness+
• Find Apple Fitness+ workouts and meditations
• Start an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Create a Custom Plan in Apple Fitness+
• Work out together using SharePlay
• Change what’s on the screen during an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Download an Apple Fitness+ workout or meditation
• Get started with Freeform
• Create a Freeform board
• Draw or handwrite
• Apply consistent styles
• Position items on a board
• Search Freeform boards
• Share and collaborate
• Delete and recover boards
• Get started with Health
• Fill out your Health Details
• Intro to Health data
• View your health data
• Share your health data
• View health data shared by others
• Download health records
• View health records
• Monitor your walking steadiness
• Log menstrual cycle information
• View menstrual cycle predictions and history
• Track your medications
• Learn more about your medications
• Log your state of mind
• Take a mental health assessment
• Set up a schedule for a Sleep Focus
• Turn off alarms and delete sleep schedules
• Add or change sleep schedules
• Turn Sleep Focus on or off
• Change your wind down period, sleep goal, and more
• View your sleep history
• Check your headphone levels
• Use audiogram data
• Register as an organ donor
• Back up your Health data
• Intro to Home
• Upgrade to the new Home architecture
• Set up accessories
• Control accessories
• Control your home using Siri
• Use Grid Forecast to plan your energy usage
• Set up HomePod
• Control your home remotely
• Create and use scenes
• Use automations
• Set up security cameras
• Use Face Recognition
• Unlock your door with a home key
• Configure a router
• Invite others to control accessories
• Add more homes
• Get music, movies, and TV shows
• Get ringtones
• Manage purchases and settings
• Get started with Journal
• Write in your journal
• Review your past journal entries
• Change Journal settings
• Magnify nearby objects
• Change settings
• Detect people around you
• Detect doors around you
• Receive image descriptions of your surroundings
• Read aloud text and labels around you
• Set up shortcuts for Detection Mode
• Add and remove email accounts
• Set up a custom email domain
• Check your email
• Unsend email with Undo Send
• Reply to and forward emails
• Save an email draft
• Add email attachments
• Download email attachments
• Annotate email attachments
• Set email notifications
• Search for email
• Organize email in mailboxes
• Flag or block emails
• Filter emails
• Use Hide My Email
• Use Mail Privacy Protection
• Change email settings
• Delete and recover emails
• Add a Mail widget to your Home Screen
• Print emails
• Get travel directions
• Select other route options
• Find stops along your route
• View a route overview or a list of turns
• Change settings for spoken directions
• Get driving directions
• Get directions to your parked car
• Set up electric vehicle routing
• Report traffic incidents
• Get cycling directions
• Get walking directions
• Get transit directions
• Delete recent directions
• Get traffic and weather info
• Estimate travel time and ETA
• Download offline maps
• Search for places
• Find nearby attractions, restaurants, and services
• Get information about places
• Mark places
• Share places
• Rate places
• Save favorite places
• Explore new places with Guides
• Organize places in My Guides
• Delete significant locations
• Look around places
• Take Flyover tours
• Find your Maps settings
• Measure dimensions
• View and save measurements
• Measure a person’s height
• Use the level
• Set up Messages
• About iMessage
• Send and reply to messages
• Unsend and edit messages
• Keep track of messages
• Forward and share messages
• Group conversations
• Watch, listen, or play together using SharePlay
• Collaborate on projects
• Use iMessage apps
• Take and edit photos or videos
• Share photos, links, and more
• Send stickers
• Request, send, and receive payments
• Send and receive audio messages
• Animate messages
• Change notifications
• Block, filter, and report messages
• Delete messages and attachments
• Recover deleted messages
• View albums, playlists, and more
• Show song credits and lyrics
• Queue up your music
• Listen to broadcast radio
• Subscribe to Apple Music
• Play music together in the car with iPhone
• Listen to lossless music
• Listen to Dolby Atmos music
• Apple Music Sing
• Find new music
• Add music and listen offline
• Get personalized recommendations
• Listen to radio
• Search for music
• Create playlists
• See what your friends are listening to
• Use Siri to play music
• Change the way music sounds
• Get started with News
• Use News widgets
• See news stories chosen just for you
• Read stories
• Follow your favorite teams with My Sports
• Listen to Apple News Today
• Subscribe to Apple News+
• Browse and read Apple News+ stories and issues
• Download Apple News+ issues
• Listen to audio stories
• Solve crossword puzzles
• Search for news stories
• Save stories in News for later
• Subscribe to individual news channels
• Get started with Notes
• Add or remove accounts
• Create and format notes
• Draw or write
• Add photos, videos, and more
• Scan text and documents
• Work with PDFs
• Create Quick Notes
• Search notes
• Organize in folders
• Organize with tags
• Use Smart Folders
• Export or print notes
• Change Notes settings
• Make a call
• Answer or decline incoming calls
• While on a call
• Set up voicemail
• Check voicemail
• Change voicemail greeting and settings
• Select ringtones and vibrations
• Make calls using Wi-Fi
• Set up call forwarding and call waiting
• Avoid unwanted calls
• View photos and videos
• Play videos and slideshows
• Delete or hide photos and videos
• Edit photos and videos
• Trim video length and adjust slow motion
• Edit Cinematic mode videos
• Edit Live Photos
• Edit portraits
• Use photo albums
• Edit, share, and organize albums
• Filter and sort photos and videos in albums
• Make stickers from your photos
• Duplicate and copy photos and videos
• Merge duplicate photos and videos
• Search for photos
• Identify people and pets
• Browse photos by location
• Share photos and videos
• Share long videos
• View photos and videos shared with you
• Watch memories
• Personalize your memories
• Manage memories and featured photos
• Use iCloud Photos
• Create shared albums
• Add and remove people in a shared album
• Add and delete photos and videos in a shared album
• Set up or join an iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Add content to an iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Use iCloud Shared Photo Library
• Import and export photos and videos
• Print photos
• Find podcasts
• Listen to podcasts
• Follow your favorite podcasts
• Use the Podcasts widget
• Organize your podcast library
• Download, save, or share podcasts
• Subscribe to podcasts
• Listen to subscriber-only content
• Change download settings
• Make a grocery list
• Add items to a list
• Edit and manage a list
• Search and organize lists
• Work with templates
• Use Smart Lists
• Print reminders
• Use the Reminders widget
• Change Reminders settings
• Browse the web
• Search for websites
• Customize your Safari settings
• Change the layout
• Use Safari profiles
• Open and close tabs
• Organize your tabs
• View your Safari tabs from another Apple device
• Share Tab Groups
• Use Siri to listen to a webpage
• Bookmark favorite webpages
• Save pages to a Reading List
• Find links shared with you
• Annotate and save a webpage as a PDF
• Automatically fill in forms
• Get extensions
• Hide ads and distractions
• Clear your cache
• Browse the web privately
• Use passkeys in Safari
• Check stocks
• Manage multiple watchlists
• Read business news
• Add earnings reports to your calendar
• Use a Stocks widget
• Translate text, voice, and conversations
• Translate text in apps
• Translate with the camera view
• Subscribe to Apple TV+, MLS Season Pass, or an Apple TV channel
• Add your TV provider
• Get shows, movies, and more
• Watch sports
• Watch Major League Soccer with MLS Season Pass
• Control playback
• Manage your library
• Change the settings
• Make a recording
• Play it back
• Edit or delete a recording
• Keep recordings up to date
• Organize recordings
• Search for or rename a recording
• Share a recording
• Duplicate a recording
• Keep cards and passes in Wallet
• Set up Apple Pay
• Use Apple Pay for contactless payments
• Use Apple Pay in apps and on the web
• Track your orders
• Use Apple Cash
• Use Apple Card
• Use Savings
• Pay for transit
• Access your home, hotel room, and vehicle
• Add identity cards
• Use COVID-19 vaccination cards
• Check your Apple Account balance
• Use Express Mode
• Organize your Wallet
• Remove cards or passes
• Check the weather
• Check the weather in other locations
• View weather maps
• Manage weather notifications
• Use Weather widgets
• Learn the weather icons
• Find out what Siri can do
• Tell Siri about yourself
• Have Siri announce calls and notifications
• Add Siri Shortcuts
• About Siri Suggestions
• Use Siri in your car
• Change Siri settings
• Contact emergency services
• Use Emergency SOS via satellite
• Request Roadside Assistance via satellite
• Set up and view your Medical ID
• Use Check In
• Manage Crash Detection
• Reset privacy and security settings in an emergency
• Set up Family Sharing
• Add Family Sharing members
• Remove Family Sharing members
• Share subscriptions
• Share purchases
• Share locations with family and locate lost devices
• Set up Apple Cash Family and Apple Card Family
• Set up parental controls
• Set up a child’s device
• Get started with Screen Time
• Protect your vision health with Screen Distance
• Set up Screen Time
• Set communication and safety limits and block inappropriate content
• Charging cable
• Power adapters
• MagSafe chargers and battery packs
• MagSafe cases and sleeves
• Qi-certified wireless chargers
• Use AirPods
• Use EarPods
• Apple Watch
• Wirelessly stream videos and photos to Apple TV or a smart TV
• Connect to a display with a cable
• HomePod and other wireless speakers
• Pair Magic Keyboard
• Enter characters with diacritical marks
• Switch between keyboards
• Use shortcuts
• Choose an alternative keyboard layout
• Change typing assistance options
• External storage devices
• Bluetooth accessories
• Share your internet connection
• Allow phone calls on your iPad and Mac
• Use iPhone as a webcam
• Hand off tasks between devices
• Cut, copy, and paste between iPhone and other devices
• Stream video or mirror the screen of your iPhone
• Start SharePlay instantly
• Use AirDrop to send items
• Connect iPhone and your computer with a cable
• Transfer files between devices
• Transfer files with email, messages, or AirDrop
• Transfer files or sync content with the Finder or iTunes
• Automatically keep files up to date with iCloud
• Use an external storage device, a file server, or a cloud storage service
• Intro to CarPlay
• Connect to CarPlay
• Use your vehicle’s built-in controls
• Get turn-by-turn directions
• Change the map view
• Make phone calls
• View your calendar
• Send and receive text messages
• Announce incoming text messages
• Play podcasts
• Play audiobooks
• Listen to news stories
• Control your home
• Use other apps with CarPlay
• Rearrange icons on CarPlay Home
• Change settings in CarPlay
• Get started with accessibility features
• Turn on accessibility features for setup
• Change Siri accessibility settings
• Open features with Accessibility Shortcut
• Change color and brightness
• Make text easier to read
• Reduce onscreen motion
• Customize per-app visual settings
• Hear what’s on the screen or typed
• Hear audio descriptions
• Turn on and practice VoiceOver
• Change your VoiceOver settings
• Use VoiceOver gestures
• Operate iPhone when VoiceOver is on
• Control VoiceOver using the rotor
• Use the onscreen keyboard
• Write with your finger
• Use VoiceOver with an Apple external keyboard
• Use a braille display
• Type braille on the screen
• Customize gestures and keyboard shortcuts
• Use VoiceOver with a pointer device
• Use VoiceOver for images and videos
• Use VoiceOver in apps
• Use AssistiveTouch
• Adjust how iPhone responds to your touch
• Use Reachability
• Auto-answer calls
• Turn off vibration
• Change Face ID and attention settings
• Use Voice Control
• Adjust the side or Home button
• Use Apple TV Remote buttons
• Adjust pointer settings
• Adjust keyboard settings
• Adjust AirPods settings
• Turn on Apple Watch Mirroring
• Control a nearby Apple device
• Intro to Switch Control
• Set up and turn on Switch Control
• Select items, perform actions, and more
• Control several devices with one switch
• Use hearing devices
• Use Live Listen
• Use sound recognition
• Set up and use RTT and TTY
• Flash the LED for alerts
• Adjust audio settings
• Play background sounds
• Display subtitles and captions
• Show transcriptions for Intercom messages
• Get Live Captions (beta)
• Type to speak
• Record a Personal Voice
• Use Guided Access
• Use built-in privacy and security protections
• Set a passcode
• Set up Face ID
• Set up Touch ID
• Control access to information on the Lock Screen
• Keep your Apple ID secure
• Use passkeys to sign in to apps and websites
• Sign in with Apple
• Share passwords
• Automatically fill in strong passwords
• Change weak or compromised passwords
• View your passwords and related information
• Share passkeys and passwords securely with AirDrop
• Make your passkeys and passwords available on all your devices
• Automatically fill in verification codes
• Automatically fill in SMS passcodes
• Sign in with fewer CAPTCHA challenges
• Use two-factor authentication
• Use security keys
• Manage information sharing with Safety Check
• Control app tracking permissions
• Control the location information you share
• Control access to information in apps
• Control how Apple delivers advertising to you
• Control access to hardware features
• Create and manage Hide My Email addresses
• Protect your web browsing with iCloud Private Relay
• Use a private network address
• Use Advanced Data Protection
• Use Lockdown Mode
• Use Stolen Device Protection
• Receive warnings about sensitive content
• Use Contact Key Verification
• Turn iPhone on or off
• Force restart iPhone
• Back up iPhone
• Return iPhone settings to their defaults
• Restore all content from a backup
• Restore purchased and deleted items
• Sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone
• Erase iPhone
• Install or remove configuration profiles
• Important safety information
• Important handling information
• Find more resources for software and service
• FCC compliance statement
• ISED Canada compliance statement
• Ultra Wideband information
• Class 1 Laser information
• Apple and the environment
• Disposal and recycling information
• Unauthorized modification of iOS

Change the layout in Safari on iPhone

iOS 15: How to get the iPhone's old Safari layout back

Safari's new design in iOS 15 isn't for everyone. 

Apple released iOS 15 near the end of September, and the company is currently readying the next update, iOS 15.2, for release likely sometime this week. For some, there's still an annoying change in the iPhone's web browser, Safari. After updating to iOS 15 you may have noticed that the address bar is not located at the bottom of the screen. 

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The change is a jolt to your muscle memory. I know I found myself constantly reaching to the top of the iPhone's screen for the address bar, but eventually, I grew to enjoy the new layout.

It only takes a couple of seconds to make the switch. I suggest giving the new Safari a chance for a day or two before going back to the old design -- I've been using it since June and don't think I could go back to the old Safari. Nonetheless, here are the steps should you need them. 

Also: iOS 15 destroyed your iPhone's battery life? Don't panic!

How to go back to the old Safari design

There are two ways to go about reverting Safari to its previous look. One is done directly in Safari; the other requires you to open the Settings app. They both do the same thing, so it's really up to you how you go about making the chance. 

The first method requires you to go to  Settings , then find and select  Safari . Scroll down until you see get to the  Tabs  section. There you'll find two thumbnails of the iPhone.  Tab Bar , which is the new design, is on the left.  Single Tab , or the old design, is on the right. Select  Single Tab . 

The second method, which is much easier and quicker, is all done directly in Safari itself, but it's a little hidden. 

You can move Safari's address bar back to the top of the screen with ease. 

In Safari, tap on the  aA  icon that should be on the left side of the address bar. A menu will show up, and at the top of it will be the  Show Top Address Bar option . Select it. (You can also use the same steps to reverse the change, as shown in the screenshots above.)

The new Safari isn't the only new feature in iOS 15. I have a few of them here that you need to know about , as well as some great hidden features I've found so far . 

If you're going back to the old-look Safari as soon as possible, let us know why in the comments.

iPhone 15 Pro vs. iPhone 13 Pro: Should you upgrade to Apple's latest model?

How to use standby mode on ios 17 (and which iphone models support it), ios 18 wishlist: 5 features i'd like to see apple bring to the iphone.

Pocket-lint

How to change the layout of safari on ios 15 to the previous one.

Apple has radically changed the look, layout, and feel of Safari on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 - here's how to change it back.

Apple has radically changed the look, layout, and feel of Safari on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 , moving the entire URL bar towards the bottom of the display into an all-in-one taskbar on iPhone, and integrating the tab row and URL bar into a single line at the top of the display on iPad. 

If you aren’t a fan of the switch, however, or think a less tech-savvy relative or friend may not take to the change so kindly, worry not, as Apple has included an easy-to-access option in the Settings app which’ll allow you to revert the Safari layout to the previous version should you so choose. 

First, we’ll take a look at how to move the iOS 15 URL bar back to the top of the display, then we’ll show you how to change the iPadOS layout next. So grab your iOS 15 device and let’s roll. Watch our video below, or follow the written guide beneath that: 

How to move the URL bar on Safari back to the top of the display on iOS 15

Here's what the Settings page should look like for you if you'd like the URL bar to be at the top. On the right is an example of the change before and after. 

You’ll want to open up the Settings app, then navigate to Safari. Once you’re there, scroll down to the section labeled Tabs and simply select Single Tab, and you’re set. 

As you’ll be able to see in the little graphic shown, the URL bar will be brought to the top of the display as per usual rather than sitting on the bottom. It’s that easy! 

Alternatively, Apple has included an even easier way in iOS 15 to revert back: simply tap the pair of letter-As directly within Safari on the URL bar. The very first option should be "Show Top Address Bar". Selecting that should do the trick. 

How to make the tab bar go back to normal on iPadOS 15

On iPadOS, the process is exactly like it is on iOS 15. Simply open the Settings app, find the menu titled Safari, and scroll to the section labeled Tabs. Instead of Compact Tab Bar, switch to Separate Tab Bar. And you’re done - the URL bar and tab bar should be on discrete lines now as it was in iOS and iPadOS versions of the past. 

If you’d like to check out Pocket-lint’s recap of all the new features available on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, check out our guide by tapping right here . 

iOS 15: Navigating the New Tab Bar in Safari

People complained fiercely about the new tab bar layout in Safari on iOS 15 . There was so much criticism that Apple provided a setting to change the tab layout back to how it was before. Once you get used to it, though, navigating Safari’s new tab layout is very easy and efficient.

Less “Travel Time” to Type Your Searches

Since the tab bar, and search box, are at the bottom of the screen, you don’t have to reach as far to use them. For most people, once they become accustomed to the layout, it should make typing addresses and search phrases much easier.

Think about it this way. Your keyboard appears at the bottom of the screen. With the new bottom layout for your tabs, your fingers don’t have to move from top to bottom, or vice versa, when you’re opening new tabs and then tapping in what you want to search for.

Dealing With the Tab Bar’s Disappearing Act

As you scroll through a web page, you’ll see the tab bar disappear. The bottom of the screen will offer a slimmer space, and you’ll see the page URL or title. To get the tab bar back, do one of two things.

You can tap at the bottom of the screen, in the thin bar with the web page title or address. The tab bar will reappear, along with the address/search box. Alternatively, scroll back up on your page. That will also bring the tab bar back.

Navigate Your Tabs with a Swipe

To switch between tabs, you can still do things the old way by tapping the tab icon and then choosing what you want. There is an easier way, though, if you only have a few open tabs. Just swipe left or right on the tab bar, and you’ll quickly move between your open web pages.

If you really want to put your tabs to how they were before, just go to Settings > Safari , and change Tabs to Single Tab .

The video below shows all of this in action.

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How to use the new Safari tab bar in iOS 15 — if you want to

The new tab bar takes some getting used to, but it is useful

It's not as if the redesigned tab bar in Safari for iOS 15 has some enormously better capabilities on any one website than it did before. It does have a new way of moving between sites, but really what it has is a different approach, an unfamiliar design.

Apple wants tabs to get out of your way and that's laudable. It's more than laudable that Apple has brought the new Tab Groups feature to iOS 15, it's brilliant - and it's different. Everybody either loves Tab Groups or simply has no reason to even know they're there.

Whereas no one can use Safari without using tabs, so a major redesign is a very big and very unavoidable deal. Or it was until Apple introduced the option to go back to the old design .

How to switch between the old and new tab designs

On your iPhone, go to Settings , then scroll down to Safari . There's a straightforward toggle, showing one icon for Tab Bar , one for Single Tab .

Tap the one you want, and you're set. Just don't change it too quickly, give the new tab bar a chance.

How to use the new tab bar in iOS 15

When you open Safari, the page that you see first is whatever site you were last reading — and there's now a floating bar at the bottom. That bar contains the address of the site, plus a Share button and one to do with rearranging tabs.

How to go to a new site

• If the bar disappears, tap and pull on the site to scroll — and bring the bar back up
• Tap on the address of the current site
• When it highlights, tap the small delete button to the left
• Start typing a new address in there — or a new search term — and press Go

That all sounds clear, sensible, and easy, and it is. Except for how the tab bar is at the bottom of the page and you probably have very, very many years of experience of reaching for the top of the screen instead.

It will take you time to unlearn that, but there is an advantage to the new tab bar. You may even like it for this, it's a revised way of moving between tabs.

How to move between tabs on the tab bar

• Bring up the tab bar
• Press on it, then swipe to one side or the other
• You're immediately taken to the next tab, assuming you have more than one open.

You do have more than one tab open, you do have very many more. We're not judging.

And so this swiping is a lot faster than before. Previously you would have to tap the tab button, find what you want from the thumbnail images, and then tap to go into the tab you were after.

Yet you can still do that. Bring up that tab bar, tap on the tabs button at far right, and you get a view of all your tabs. Rather than the old Rolodex-style of thumbnails where you had to move forwards and backwards to see you what you want, it's now a Photos-style grid.

From that grid, you can tap to go into any tab. You can also tap on the small delete button to get rid of the tab completely.

What you can't do, unfortunately, is drag the tabs around to arrange them. You can press and hold on any one tab and get a menu that gives some sorting options, but they're limited.

Your choices are to Arrange Tabs by Title , or to Arrange Tabs by Website .

Except, if that seems a bit constrained, something else the new design brings is the ability to organize tabs more. This is crossing into the Tab Groups feature, but as you press and hold on any tab's thumbnail, you do get two particularly key options.

If you have six tabs open, pressing and holding on one gets you a menu that offers to let you move all of those tabs to an existing group. And you also get the option to move them all to a brand new group.

What you can't do is pick a few of the tabs and move those, it's all or nothing. Or at least it is at present. Maybe we already know something that'll be in iOS 16.

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How to master Safari tabs in MacOS Monterey

There are a lot of useful ways you can use and manage tabs in the Safari web browser on MacOS. With a few settings hidden in preference panes and right-click menus, you can make your web browser much more effective and efficient in day-to-day use.

Step 1: Change tab appearance

Step 2: create a new tab group, step 3: manage your tab groups.

• Step 4: Get a bird’s eye view

Step 5: Move and reorder tabs

Step 6: reopen closed tabs and windows.

Things get interesting when you start using Safari’s Tab Groups , which were introduced with MacOS Monterey . These let you organize your tabs into related groups and then switch between them. For instance, you might have one group containing a few tabs for work, then a second group for news sites that you read during your lunch break. Switch from your news group to your work group, and all the news tabs are hidden. It’s like moving between two different Safari windows, but with less hassle. And even better, all your Tab Groups sync between your other Apple devices that are using the same Apple ID.

Of course, there is far more to Safari tabs than just Tab Groups and plenty more useful tips and tricks to learn along the way. We will cover these as well in this guide, helping you get much more from the humble web browser tab.

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By default, Safari keeps the URL bar above the row of tabs you have open. However, you can merge the two so that clicking the active tab lets you enter a new web address directly into the tab.

To do so, click Safari > Preferences in your Mac menu bar. In the Preferences pane, click Tabs , then click Compact next to Tab Layout .

Don’t forget to check the other settings while you’re there. You can change how tabs behave, including whether new pages open in tabs or windows and whether the focus switches to a new tab as soon as you open it.

In most browsers, all your tabs are grouped together into one long stream. In situations like that, it can be easy to lose track of the different things you were working on in different tabs. Safari does things a little differently with its Tab Groups feature, which lets you create named groups of tabs and switch between them with ease.

To create a Tab Group, click the sidebar button in the top-left corner, then click the New Tab G roup button on the right of the sidebar. Next, choose whether you want the Tab Group to comprise your currently open tabs or to create a new, blank group. Give it a name, and you’re done.

Alternatively, you can create a Tab Group by right-clicking on any tab and clicking Move to Tab Group > New Tab Group . Or open the sidebar, right-click the X Tabs button (where X is the number of tabs you have open), then click New Tab Group with X Tabs .

When you switch between Tab Groups, the tabs in your previous group will be replaced by those in the new group. Don’t worry, they still exist, they’re just hidden. To move between Tab Groups, click the downward arrow next to the name of the group in the top-left corner, then click the name of a different Tab Group. Or simply click a different Tab Group in the sidebar.

You can add a tab to an existing Tab Group at any time by right-clicking it and clicking Move to Tab Group , then clicking the name of the destination group. Alternatively, open the sidebar, then drag and drop a tab from the main window into your desired Tab Group.

To remove a tab from a Tab Group (but still keep it open), right-click it and click Move to Tab Group > X Tabs , where X is the number of tabs this group contains. This will put the tab in an unnamed group of tabs located at the top of the sidebar.

You can rename a Tab Group by double-clicking its name in the sidebar or by right-clicking it and selecting Rename . Note that this only works with groups you have created, not the X Tabs Group at the top of the sidebar. To remove a group entirely, right-click it and click Delete . This will close all tabs contained in the group.

Step 4: Get a bird’s eye view

If you use a lot of tabs at once, it can be hard to find the one you want because tabs shrink in size the more you have open. However, there’s a quick way to get a bird’s eye view of your tabs. Just press Shift + Command , click View > Show Tab Overview  or click the Tab Overview button in the top-right corner of the Safari window (it looks like four squares arranged into a larger square). This will show all your tabs as large tiles. Just click one to make it the active tab.

Additionally, you can add a new tab to a Tab Group using the overview feature. Open the overview, then click the large Plus tile, and a new tab will open. And if you need to find a specific tab, open the overview and start typing. You will notice the cursor is active in a Search Tabs box in the top-right, and results will appear as you type.

Reordering your tabs is as easy as clicking and dragging one to a new place in the tab bar. There is another, more ordered way to do it, though. Right-click any tab, then click Arrange Tabs By and choose either Title or Website . This will arrange the tabs alphabetically either by tab name (the website title that’s shown in the tab) or by the website address.

Accidentally closed a tab? Not to worry — you can instantly reopen it by pressing Command + Z . Keep pressing it to keep reopening other tabs.

If there’s a specific tab you want to reopen, click History in the menu bar to see recently visited websites. Or click History > Recently Closed for a long list of recently closed tabs. You can even reopen tabs from days prior by clicking History , then choosing a date from the bottom of the menu and picking a tab.

To reopen a closed window, just press Shift + Command + T , or click History > Reopen Last Closed Window .

Want a quick way to switch between tabs? Just press Command + Shift + Right Arrow or Command + Shift + Left Arrow to move along the row of tabs. Alternatively, use Command + 1 to Command + 9 to switch to the tab that corresponds to each number. Both are great  Mac keyboard shortcuts that will save you time.

And if you have several Tab Groups open when you close Safari, the likelihood is you will want them open again when you next launch your web browser. To ensure they load when Safari opens, click Safari > Preferences in the menu bar, then click the General tab. Under Safari Opens With , click All Windows From Last Session .

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Essential Safari tips to help you browse smarter and faster on your Mac

While there are a lot of browser options on your Mac, Safari is one of the best choices out there. Not only is it the default browser on every Mac, it offers a slew of features, like privacy and accessibility options. It’s a solid browser all around.

If you’re new to Safari, here are six tips to help you get the most out of the browser. Even if you’ve been using Safari on your Mac for while, take a quick look at these tips—maybe there’s a setting or feature you had not heard about.  

Display full URLs

By default, Safari only shows the name of the website that you’re currently visiting in the address bar. If you’d rather see the entire URL, there’s a really easy way to turn it on. Navigate to the Safari menu and select  Preferences . Then click on the  Advanced  tab. Then, in the setting for Smart Search Field, toggle the Show full website address option on.

The option to show the full website address is in the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences.

Quickly reopen closed tabs

You probably spend a lot of time jumping between tabs in Safari. But what happens if you close one accidentally? Well, you can always reopen it. To easily reopen tabs that you’ve recently closed, all you need to do is press Shift+Command+T and the tab will reopen.

If you aren’t super comfortable using the keyboard shortcuts on your Mac, you can also use the browser’s settings bar, too. Click on  History  at the top of your browser and then select the  Reopen Last Closed Tab option. There’s also an option to  Reopen All Windows from Last Session , in case you accidentally closed a set of tabs.

Closed a tab or tabs by accident? There’s a fix for that.

If you want to avoid closing a tab altogether, you can always pin it. This will keep the tab permanently to the left of the others, making it easier to find when you really need it. It’s also really handy for when you’re working with multiple tabs and don’t want to lose it in the fray.

To pin a tab, all you need to do is right-click on the tab that you want to pin and then select  Pin Tab  from the dropdown list. This will pin it directly in your browser, letting you find it easily whenever you need it. You can also switch to pinned tabs easily by pressing Command+1 or Command+2, etc. on your keyboard.

Pinning a tab is a handy way to access a site you need on a regular basis.

Change the layout

Apple is always updating Safari, which means the user interface changes as time goes on. One thing that has changed in recent iterations is the way that tabs are laid out in the browser. Luckily, if you don’t like the standard layout, you can always change it.

To change the tab layout in Safari on Mac, got to the  Safari  menu and select  Preferences .  Navigate to the Tabs section where you will find the  Tab Layout  setting. You can chose between Compact, which puts the tabs and address bar in a single row, or Separate, which puts the tabs below the address bar.

Apple offers two options for how tabs are displayed.

Customize the toolbar

One of the best things you can do to master Safari is personalize it. This lets you change where things are on the toolbar, as well as adjust what kind of add-ons you want to see during your daily browsing. 

You can easily customize the toolbar in Safari on the Mac by right-clicking on the toolbar at the top of the screen. Then select the  Customize Toolbar  option and it will bring up a new window that lets you customize all of the items on your toolbar, including your add-ons, search bar, and more.

Change what buttons appear on the toolbar.

Change the Homepage

If you want to completely bypass the Start page and set a specific site as your Homepage whenever you click on the Home button, head over on the  Safari  menu. Click  Preferences , then  General  and enter any URL into the  Homepage  box. We recommend www.macworld.com.

Personalize the Start page

By default, Safari is set up to take you to a special Start page that showcases your Favorites, Reading List, Bookmarks, and other handy things. If you want to customize that particular page, you can. 

To customize the start screen, then right-click in any blank space on the Start page to bring up a list of options that you can show or hide. You can also drag and drop icons to move them around or even create a new folder to store them in. 

Safari can be configured to have the same Start Page across multiple devices.

Once you’ve customized how you want the Start page to appear, you can have it appear on all the devices you use by turning on the “Use Start Page on All Devices” option in the settings menu in the lower right corner of the Start page. This menu also lets you set a background image and turn off Siri Suggestions and sidebar options.

Author: Brittany Vincent

How-To Geek

How to switch to compact tabs in safari on mac.

Browse the web in a leaner-looking Safari.

Quick Links

Tired of Safari's default tab layout? Here's how you can switch to compact tabs in Safari on your Mac to conserve the screen space and give it a leaner, more streamlined look.

Unlike Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, Safari's tabs appear by default under the address bar, called the "Separate" layout. Switching to the "Compact" tabs layout aligns the address bar with the tabs to allow more area for websites. Also, you'll only see the favicon along with the website's domain, not the full page URL . So, for example, no matter where you are on our website, you'll only see

in the address bar.

Related: How to See a Web Page's Full URL in Safari

After updating Safari to Safari 15 or later on your Mac, open all your favorite sites in different tabs.

Click the "Safari" menu in the top-left corner of the menu bar

Select "Preferences" from the context menu that opens.

Select "Tabs" next to the "General" section.

Next, select the "Compact" option. The change will instantly apply to all the tabs open in Safari.

Unchecking the box for "Automatically Collapse Tab Titles into Icons" will cause tabs to be stacked when you have too many. You can also use Command+Tab to move to the next tab and Command+Shift+Tab to move to the previous tab, along with many other Safari keyboard shortcuts .

If you change your mind later, you can revisit the "Tabs" section in Safari's Preferences to switch to the "Separate" tab layout.

That's it! Ready to level up your skills and learn to  master Safari Tabs  on your Mac.

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How To Switch Tab Layouts In macOS Safari

Safari 15 or later introduces a new Tab layout feature that allows users to switch between Compact and Separate tab layouts.

The Separate tab layout is the good old layout that you would be familiar with from previous versions of Safari. The Compact tab layout on the other hand introduces a new and modern layout for tabs, which not only look modern but also take up less screen real estate.

While Apple introduced the Compact layout thinking it will be a hit among Mac users, it turned out to be a controversial move, with many asking Apple to revert the changes and bring Safari’s old look back.

Thankfully Apple decided to give users the option between the Compact and Separate layouts rather than enforcing one or the other, hence keeping both sides happy.

If you are looking to get the old Safari look back on your Mac and want to switch to Separate tab layout, or if you want to get a modern look on your Safari this article will help you in both cases.

How to switch Safari Tab Layout on Mac

Follow these steps to get Safari’s old look back or switch to Safari’s new look with Compact layout.

Note: In order to get Compact look you need to be running Safari 15.0 or later.

• On your Mac open Safari and click on ‘Safari’ option from the menu bar.
• Next from the drop down menu click on ‘Preferences’ option.
• Finally under Tabs choose between Compact and Separate options.

That’s it, this is how you can get Safari’s old look back on your Mac running macOS Monterey or later.

Which Tab layout do you prefer? Are you switching back to old Safari look or you like the new Compact style? Let us know in the comments.

Also read: How To Move Safari Address Bar To Top Or Bottom

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macOS: How to Manage Multiple Open Safari Tabs

Browser tabs in Safari are a great way to visit multiple webpages in the same browsing session without having to close any of them, which makes them particularly useful for cross-referencing and researching things online.

1. Bookmark All Open Tabs

If the browser tabs you have open are related and you plan to regularly revisit them, it's worth bookmarking them together in their own bookmark folder. To do so, simply select Bookmarks -> Add Bookmarks for These X Tabs... (X being the number of open tabs).

You'll then be invited to create a name for the bookmark folder and select where you want it to be kept amongst your other bookmarks, which you can access at any time by selecting Bookmarks -> Show Bookmarks in the menu bar.

Note that you can perform a similar action to add all open tabs to your Reading List for later perusal, even when you're offline. ( Bookmarks -> Add These X Tabs to Reading List .)

2. Use Tab Groups

In macOS Monterey, Tab Groups are a neat way to save and manage related tabs without having to have those tabs active and taking up space. If you're planning a trip, for example, you can save all of your tabs into a "Vacation" group, accessing them when needed and leaving your device free for other content when you're not doing active planning.

To create a new Tab Group, click the Show Sidebar icon next to the traffic lights, then select New Tab Group . Alternately, click the down arrow next to the Show Sidebar icon and select either New Empty Tab Group or New Tab Group With X Tabs , "X" being the number of tabs currently open.

Any Tab Groups you create are listed in the sidebar for easy switching. You can also select groups by clicking the down arrow next to the Show Sidebar icon. Any tabs that are opened when a Tab Group is selected will automatically be included in that group. For more tips on working with Tab Groups, check out our dedicated how-to .

3. Change Safari's Tab Layout

Safari offers two tab layouts: Compact and Separate. Compact is a more unified Safari design that does away with the dedicated URL and search interface and makes any individual tab able to be used for navigation input.

The problem with the Compact layout is that it severely limits space for multiple open tabs. In this regard, the Separate layout is more preferable, as it positions the URL/search bar at the top of the Safari window, with your tabs arranged below it.

If you're not already using the Separate tab layout, you can switch to it easily enough by selecting Safari -> Preferences... in the menu bar. Click the Tabs menu in the preference pane and select Tab Layout: Separate to remove the compact tab bar that merges everything together.

4. Rearrange Open Tabs

Sometimes you may have several open tabs from a handful of websites that you tend to visit but which are mixed up with other tabs from different places across the web.

In such cases, it can be useful to rearrange your tabs so that tabs from the same website are lined up next to each other, allowing you to easily review what you've read and dispense with any redundant tabs that were hiding between them.

To sort your tabs according to website, or title if you prefer, simply right-click any tab and select Arrange Tabs By -> Website or Title from the dropdown menu.

5. Pin Tabs

Safari's pinned tabs feature lets you better organize your tabs, especially if find you have too many open at the same time. It's particularly useful if you have certain websites that you tend to visit frequently throughout the day.

The neat thing about pinned tabs is that they stay in place, even when you open a new Safari window or quit and reopen Safari. And when you click a link to another website from a pinned tab, the other website opens in a new tab, ensuring your pinned tab always shows the website you pinned.

To pin a tab, drag the tab to the leftmost side of the tab bar, and when the tab shrinks to show just the website's favicon, simply drop it in place. You can also select Window -> Pin Tab from the menu bar, or right-click (Ctrl-click) a tab, then choose Pin Tab from the contextual menu.

If you have multiple pinned tabs, you can rearrange them in the Tabs bar by dragging them with your cursor. To unpin a website tab, just drag the pinned tab to the right side of the tab bar and it will expand to become a normal tab again.

6. Kill Them All

If you're done with all your other open tabs because you've found what you were looking for, then you can close all open tabs except the currently active one. Alternately, you can opt to close all open tabs to the right of the one you're currently viewing. Simply right-click the currently active tab and select Close Other Tabs or Close Tabs to the Right .

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How to Get Back the Old Safari Layout in iOS 16

iOS 15 brought some dramatic changes to the way we navigate the Safari web browser. Those changes were designed with ease of navigation in mind, but not everyone likes the new layout, and that's okay! If you'd rather use the old Safari version with the address bar at the top, we'll show you how to go back to the old Safari layout.

Why You'll Love This Tip

• Safari looking upside down? Move the Safari address bar back to the top of the screen.
• Go back to the old Safari to navigate the way you're used to.

How to Go Back to the Old Safari from before iOS 15

Where is the Safari address bar? How do I go back to the old Safari from before iOS 15? Don't worry, you're not the only one asking these questions. We can help! The steps below will help you fix Safari and make it look the way it used to. While the Safari layout changed in iOS 15, you can still use these steps in iOS 16 to revert to its previous interface. If you like this tip, check out our other iOS 16 navigation and settings tips by signing up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

This will switch Safari back to the layout from before iOS 15 and put the address bar back at the top! Now you'll be able to navigate Safari in almost the same way as before the software update, but it's important to note that you'll still see some differences in your tabs layout and other tab functions. Since you know how to get back the old Safari layout, be sure to read our article on  how to maintain your iPhone's lithium-ion battery .

Author Details

Erin MacPherson

Erin is a Web Editor for iPhone Life and has been a writer, editor, and researcher for many years. She has a degree in communication with an emphasis on psychology and communication, and has spent many of her professional years as a coach in various business and specialty fields. Erin officially joined the ranks of iPhone and Apple users everywhere around nine years ago, and has since enjoyed the unique and customized feel of Apple technology and its many gadgets. When she’s not working, Erin and her son enjoy outdoor adventures, camping, and spending time with their eclectic collection of pets.

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How To Change Safari Tabs Back To Normal

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• Browsers & Extensions

Introduction

Safari, the sleek and intuitive web browser developed by Apple, has undergone a significant change in its tab design with the release of macOS Monterey. This alteration has sparked a wave of reactions from users, with some embracing the fresh look and others yearning for the familiarity of the previous tab layout. If you find yourself in the latter category, longing to revert Safari tabs back to their traditional appearance, you're in the right place.

In this article, we'll delve into the intricacies of Safari's tab transformation and equip you with the knowledge and steps required to restore the classic tab style. Whether you're a long-time Safari aficionado or a recent convert to the browser , understanding how to navigate these changes can significantly enhance your browsing experience.

So, if you're ready to bid farewell to the revamped tab design and welcome back the conventional layout that you know and love, let's embark on this journey together. By the end of this guide, you'll be empowered to reclaim the familiar tab setup in Safari, ensuring a seamless and personalized browsing environment tailored to your preferences.

Understanding Safari Tab Changes

With the release of macOS Monterey, Apple introduced a significant overhaul to the Safari web browser , including a radical transformation of the tab design. The new tab layout features a streamlined appearance, with tabs seamlessly integrated into the browser's top interface. This departure from the traditional tab structure has been a point of contention among users, sparking a diverse range of opinions and reactions.

The revamped Safari tabs are characterized by a compact and visually unified arrangement, where the active tab blends seamlessly into the browser's toolbar. This departure from the conventional tab appearance, where each tab is distinctly separated and visually prominent, has been a source of both admiration and frustration for users.

One of the most notable changes is the amalgamation of the tab and address bar, resulting in a more streamlined and minimalist interface. Additionally, the active tab is distinguished by a subtle color shift, contributing to a more cohesive and integrated browsing experience. While these alterations represent a departure from the traditional tab layout, they also reflect Apple's commitment to refining the user experience and embracing a modern, cohesive design language across its ecosystem.

The new tab design in Safari aligns with Apple's broader design philosophy, emphasizing simplicity, functionality, and visual harmony. By integrating the tabs into the browser's toolbar, Apple aims to optimize screen real estate and create a more immersive browsing environment. This approach is rooted in the pursuit of a seamless and uncluttered user interface, catering to the evolving needs and preferences of modern users.

Understanding the rationale behind these tab changes is essential for navigating the evolving landscape of Safari's interface. Whether you embrace the new tab design or yearn for the familiarity of the previous layout, comprehending the motivations driving these alterations empowers you to make informed decisions about customizing your browsing experience.

As we delve into the steps to revert Safari tabs back to their traditional appearance, it's crucial to appreciate the thought process and design principles that underpin these changes. By gaining insight into the evolution of Safari's tab layout, you'll be better equipped to tailor the browser to your preferences and optimize your browsing workflow.

In the next section, we'll explore the actionable steps to restore the classic tab style in Safari, empowering you to personalize your browsing experience according to your unique preferences and habits.

Steps to Change Safari Tabs Back to Normal

Open Safari Preferences : Begin by launching Safari on your Mac and navigating to the "Safari" menu located in the top-left corner of the screen. From the dropdown menu, select "Preferences" to access the browser's settings and customization options.

Navigate to Tabs Preferences : Within the Preferences window, click on the "Tabs" icon, which resembles a set of stacked squares. This will direct you to the tab-specific settings, allowing you to fine-tune the display and behavior of tabs within Safari.

Adjust Tab Bar Preferences : Once in the Tabs section of Preferences, look for the option labeled "Tab Bar." Here, you'll find a checkbox titled "Show color in tab bar." Unchecking this box will revert the tab bar to its classic appearance, restoring the distinct separation and visual prominence of individual tabs.

Customize Tab Bar Appearance : To further refine the tab bar's appearance, you can explore additional customization options within the Tab Bar preferences. This includes adjusting the tab size and layout to align with your preferred visual and functional preferences.

Confirm Changes : After making the desired adjustments to the Tab Bar preferences, click "OK" to confirm and apply the changes. Safari will instantly reflect the modified tab layout, restoring the traditional appearance that aligns with your preferences and browsing habits.

By following these straightforward steps, you can seamlessly transition Safari's tab design back to its classic layout, ensuring a familiar and tailored browsing experience that enhances your productivity and comfort. Whether you prefer the streamlined aesthetic of the new tab design or yearn for the visual distinctiveness of the traditional layout, Safari's flexibility empowers you to personalize the browser according to your unique preferences.

As you navigate the evolving landscape of web browsers and interface design, understanding how to adapt and customize your browsing environment is essential. By mastering the art of customization, you can optimize your digital workflow and create a browsing experience that resonates with your individual preferences and habits.

Embracing the ability to tailor Safari's tab layout to your liking underscores the browser's commitment to user-centric design, ensuring that each individual can curate a browsing environment that aligns with their distinct preferences and workflow. With these steps at your disposal, you possess the knowledge and agency to mold Safari into a personalized digital sanctuary, where browsing is not just functional, but a reflection of your unique style and comfort.

In conclusion, the evolution of Safari's tab design reflects the dynamic interplay between user experience, design innovation, and the quest for a harmonious browsing environment. As we navigated the transition from the traditional tab layout to the streamlined design introduced in macOS Monterey, we gained valuable insights into the motivations driving these changes and the steps required to restore the classic tab appearance.

By understanding the rationale behind Safari's tab transformation, we uncovered the underlying principles of simplicity, functionality, and visual cohesion that underpin Apple's design philosophy. The integration of tabs into the browser's toolbar represents a deliberate effort to optimize screen real estate and create a more immersive browsing experience, aligning with the evolving needs and preferences of modern users.

Through the actionable steps outlined in this guide, we empowered users to reclaim the familiar tab setup in Safari, ensuring a personalized browsing experience tailored to individual preferences and habits. By navigating Safari's preferences and customizing the tab bar, users can seamlessly transition the browser's tab design back to its classic layout, striking a balance between visual distinctiveness and streamlined aesthetics.

As we embrace the flexibility and adaptability of Safari's interface, we recognize the significance of customization in shaping a browsing environment that resonates with each user's unique style and comfort. The ability to tailor Safari's tab layout underscores the browser's commitment to user-centric design, ensuring that each individual can curate a browsing environment that aligns with their distinct preferences and workflow.

In the ever-evolving landscape of web browsers and interface design, the knowledge and agency to customize and personalize the browsing experience are invaluable. By mastering the art of customization, users can optimize their digital workflow and create a browsing environment that not only meets functional needs but also reflects their individuality and comfort.

In essence, the journey to change Safari tabs back to normal is a testament to the browser's adaptability and the user's ability to shape their digital sanctuary. With a deeper understanding of Safari's tab changes and the steps to restore the classic tab style, users are equipped to navigate the evolving interface with confidence, ensuring a browsing experience that seamlessly aligns with their preferences and enhances their digital journey.

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Change Safari Tab layout on Mac in macOS Sonoma (Switch to Old)

• Explore Safari’s dynamic tab layouts to elevate your browsing experience on Mac and iOS devices.
• It’s easy to view or hide the full URL of a website in the address bar of Safari Mac.

Apple has unpredictably revamped Safari’s UI for a few years. From tones of customizable options to the lightning speed of Safari , many Apple users are adopting Safari, leaving Google Chrome, Firefox, etc. This article will discuss the Safari Tabs and how to change Safari Tab Layout in MacOS, Mac, and MacBook. Tabs are a crucial part of any browser; if you continuously spend time on Safari for research, projects, surfing, streaming, and other activities, the Tabs Layout must be striking in your eyes.

The newer macOS Update allows us to choose the Separate Safari Tab layout on Mac and the Compact Safari Layout on Mac. To be precise, the Compact Layout only shows the number of tabs in a row; moreover, the Separate Layout displays the Tabs along with the URL on the top side.   

How to Switch to Compact Tab in Safari (Move to Old Safari Tab Layout)

Before proceeding, ensure the Mac or MacBook is updated with the latest macOS .

Switch to Compact Tab in Safari

Step 1: Launch  Safari  on your Mac > Click on  Safari  from the top Menu bar > Select  Settings .

Step 2: Select  the Tabs  tab > From the Tab layout options, Choose Compact Layout. Mac will show you a preview of how the Compact tabs will look in Safari.

Step 3: Select the Tabs Tab > From the Tab layout options, Choose  Separate Layout. Mac will show you a preview of how the Separate tabs will look in Safari.

➡️ Know More About Tab Groups in Safari Mac .

Change Safari Tab Layout on iPhone Safari in iOS

New Safari Tab Layout changes the User interface in the latest iOS 15 or later update. But we can switch back to the old layout or Safari Design. Follow the below steps to change settings on your iPhone or iPad.

Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad > Next, Scroll to Find Safari Option > Again, Scroll to the Tabs section and Select Tab Bar to Apply New Default Safari Tab Layout > Select Single Tab to Switch to Old Safari Tab Layout on iPhone.

Step 2: See the Difference between the Tab Bar and the Single Tab Option. iPhone will show you a preview of how the Tab Bar and Single tabs will look in Safari.

More iOS safari settings are Allow website Tinting, & Landscape Tab Bar.

Do you like Safari Tab View? Switch to Safari Tab Layout makes it easy to access the websites quickly, without searching and visiting the tabs individually. Furthermore, Safari brought us a few more features, like creating group tabs that let you group a bundle of tabs and open them anytime.

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Optimizing WebKit & Safari for Speedometer 3.0

Apr 10, 2024

by Alan Baradlay, Antti Koivisto, Matt Woodrow, Patrick Angle, Ryosuke Niwa, Vitor Ribeiro Roriz, Wenson Hsieh, and Yusuke Suzuki

The introduction of Speedometer 3.0 is a major step forward in making the web faster for all, and allowing Web developers to make websites and web apps that were not previously possible. In this article, we explore ways the WebKit team made performance optimizations in WebKit and Safari based on the Speedometer 3.0 benchmark.

In order to make these improvements, we made an extensive use of our performance testing infrastructure. It’s integrated with our continuous integration , and provides the capability to schedule A/B tests. This allows engineers to quickly test out performance optimizations and catch new performance regressions.

Improving Tools

Proper tooling support is the key to identifying and addressing performance bottlenecks. We defined new internal JSON format for JavaScriptCore sampling profiler output to dump and process them offline. It includes a script which processes and generates analysis of hot functions and hot byte codes for JavaScriptCore. We also added FlameGraph generation tool for the dumped sampling profiler output which visualizes performance bottlenecks. In addition, we added support for JITDump generation on Darwin platforms to dump JIT related information during execution. And we improved generated JITDump information for easy use as well. These tooling improvements allowed us to quickly identify bottlenecks across Speedometer 3.0.

Improving JavaScriptCore

Revising megamorphic inline cache (ic).

Megamorphic IC offers faster property access when one property access site observes many different object types and/or property names. We observed that some frameworks such as React contain a megamorphic property access. This led us to continuously improve JavaScriptCore’s megamorphic property access optimizations: expanding put megamorphic IC, adding megamorphic IC for the in operation, and adding generic improvements for megamorphic IC.

Revising Call IC

Call IC offers faster function calls by caching call targets inline. We redesigned Call IC and we integrated two different architectures into different tiers of Just-In-Time (JIT) compilers. Lower level tiers use Call IC without any JIT code generation and the highest level tier uses JIT code generatiton with the fastest Call IC. There is a tradeoff between code generation time and code efficiency, and JavaScriptCore performs a balancing act between them to achieve the best performance across different tiers.

Optimizing JSON

Speedometer 3.0 also presented new optimization opportunities to our JSON implementations as they contain more non-ASCII characters than before. We made our fast JSON stringifier work for unicode characters . We also analyzed profile data carefully and made JSON.parse faster than ever .

Adjusting Inlining Heuristics

There are many tradeoffs when inlining functions in JavaScript. For example, inline functions can more aggressively increase the total bytecode size and may cause memory bandwidth to become a new bottleneck. The amount of instruction cache available in CPU can also influence how effective a given inlining strategy is. And the calculus of these tradeoffs change over time as we make more improvements to JavaScriptCore such as adding new bytecode instruction and changes to DFG’s numerous optimization phases. We took the release of the new Speedometer 3.0 benchmark as an opportunity to adjust inlining heuristics based on data collected in modern Apple silicon Macs with the latest JavaScriptCore.

Make JIT Code Destruction Lazy

Due to complicated conditions, JavaScriptCore eagerly destroyed CodeBlock and JIT code when GC detects they are dead. Since these destructions are costly, they should be delayed and processed while the browser is idle. We made changes so that they are now destroyed lazily, during idle time in most cases.

Opportunistic Sweeping and Garbage Collection

In addition, we noticed that a significant amount of time goes into performing garbage collection and incremental sweeping across all subtests in both Speedometer 2.1 and 3.0. In particular, if a subtest allocated a large number of JavaScript objects on the heap, we would often spend a significant amount of time in subsequent subtests collecting these objects. This had several effects:

• Increasing synchronous time intervals on many subtests due to on-demand sweeping and garbage collection when hitting heap size limits.
• Increasing asynchronous time intervals on many subtests due to asynchronous garbage collection or timer-based incremental sweeping triggering immediately after the synchronous timing interval.
• Increasing overall variance depending on whether timer-based incremental sweeping and garbage collection would fall in the synchronous or asynchronous timing windows of any given subtest.

At a high level, we realized that some of this work could be performed opportunistically in between rendering updates — that is, during idle time — instead of triggering in the middle of subtests. To achieve this, we introduced a new mechanism in WebCore to provide hints to JavaScriptCore to opportunistically perform scheduled work after the previous rendering update has completed until a given deadline (determined by the estimated remaining time until the next rendering update). The opportunistic task scheduler also accounts for imminently scheduled zero delay timers or pending requestAnimationFrame callbacks : if it observes either, it’s less likely to schedule opportunistic work in order to avoid interference with imminent script execution. We currently perform a couple types of opportunistically scheduled tasks:

• Incremental Sweeping : Prior to the opportunistic task scheduler, incremental sweeping in JavaScriptCore was automatically triggered by a periodically scheduled 100 ms timer. This had the effect of occasionally triggering incremental sweeping during asynchronous timing intervals, but also wasn’t aggressive enough to prevent on-demand sweeping in the middle of script execution. Now that JavaScriptCore is knowledgable about when to opportunistically schedule tasks, it can instead perform the majority of incremental sweeping in between rendering updates while there aren’t imminently scheduled timers. The process of sweeping is also granular to each marked block, which allows us to halt opportunistic sweeping early if we’re about to exceed the deadline for the next estimated rendering update.
• Garbage Collection : By tracking the amount of time spent performing garbage collection in previous cycles, we’re able to roughly estimate the amount of time needed to perform the next garbage collection based on the number of bytes visited or allocated since the last cycle. If the remaining duration for performing opportunistically scheduled tasks is longer than this estimated garbage collection duration, we immediately perform either an Eden collection or full garbage collection . Furthermore, we integrated activity-based garbage collections into this new scheme to schedule them at appropriate timing.

Overall, this strategy yields a 6.5% total improvement in Speedometer 3.0 *, decreasing the time spent in every subtest by a significant margin, and a 6.9% total improvement in Speedometer 2.1 *, significantly decreasing the time spent in nearly all subtests.

* macOS 14.4, MacBook Air (M2, 2022)

Various Miscellaneous Optimizations for Real World Use Cases

We extensively reviewed all Speedometer 3.0 subtests and did many optimizations for realistic use cases. The examples include but are not limited to: faster Object.assign with empty objects , improving object spread performance , and so on.

Improving DOM code

Improving DOM code is Speedometer’s namesake, and that’s exactly what we did. For example, we now store the NodeType in the Node object itself instead of relying on a virtual function call. We also made DOMParser use a fast parser, improved its support of li elements , and made DOMParser not construct a redundant DocumentFragment . Together, these changes improved TodoMVC-JavaScript-ES5 by ~20%. We also eliminated O(n^2) behavior in the fast parser for about ~0.5% overall progression in Speedometer 3.0. We also made input elements construct their user-agent shadow tree lazily during construction and cloning , the latter of which is new in Speedometer 3.0 due to web components and Lit tests. We devirtualized many functions and inlined more functions to reduce the function call overheads. We carefully reviewed performance profile data and removed inefficiency in hot paths like repeated reparsing of the same URLs .

Improving Layout and Rendering

We landed a number of important optimizations in our layout and rendering code. First off, most type checks performed on RenderObject are now done using an inline enum class instead of virtual function calls , this alone is responsible for around ~0.7% of overall progression in Speedometer 3.0.

Improving Style Engine

We also optimized the way we compute the properties animated by Web Animations code. Previously, we were enumerating every animatable properties while resolving transition: all . We optimized this code to only enumerate affected properties. This was ~0.7% overall Speedometer 3.0 progression. Animating elements can now be resolved without fully recomputing their style unless necessary for correctness.

Speedometer 3.0 content, like many modern web sites, uses CSS custom properties extensively. We implemented significant optimizations to improve their performance. Most custom property references are now resolved via fast cache lookups, avoiding expensive style resolution time property parsing. Custom properties are now stored in a new hierarchical data structure that reduces memory usage as well.

One key component of WebKit styling performance is a cache (called “matched declarations cache”) that maps directly from a set of CSS declarations to the final element style, avoiding repeating expensive style building steps for identically styled elements. We significantly improved the hit rate of this cache.

We also improved styling performance of author shadow trees, allowing trees with identical styles to share style data more effectively.

Improving Inline Layout

We fixed a number of performance bottlenecks in inline layout engine as well. Eliminating complex text path in Editor-TipTap was a major ~7% overall improvement. To understand this optimization, WebKit has two different code paths for text layout: the simple text path, which uses low level font API to access raw font data, and the complex text path, which uses CoreText for complex shaping and ligatures. The simple text path is faster but it does not cover all the edge cases. The complex text path has full coverage but is slower than the simple text path.

Previously, we were taking the complex text path whenever a non-default value of font-feature or font-variant was used. This is because historically the simple text path wouldn’t support these operations. However, we noticed that the only feature of these still missing in the simple text path was font-variant-caps . By implementing font-variant-caps support for the simple text path , we allowed the simple text path to handle the benchmark content. This resulted in 4.5x improvement in Editor-TipTap subtest, and ~7% overall progression in Speedometer 3.0.

In addition to improving the handling of text content in WebKit, we also worked with CoreText team to avoid unnecessary work in laying out glyphs. This resulted in ~0.5% overall progression in Speedometer 3.0, and these performance gains will benefit not just WebKit but other frameworks and applications that use CoreText.

Improving SVG Layout

Another area we landed many optimizations for is SVG. Speedometer 3.0 contains a fair bit of SVG content in test cases such as React-Stockcharts-SVG. We were spending a lot of time computing the bounding box for repaint by creating GraphicsContext, applying all styles, and actually drawing strokes in CoreGraphics. Here, we adopted Blink ’s optimization to approximate bounding box and made ~6% improvement in React-Stockcharts-SVG subtest. We also eliminated O(n^2) algorithm in SVG text layout code, which made some SVG content load a lot quicker .

Improving IOSurface Cache Hit Rate

Another optimization we did involve improving the cache hit rate of IOSurface. An IOSurface is a bitmap image buffer we use to paint web contents into. Since creating this object is rather expensive, we have a cache of IOSurface objects based on their dimensions. We observed that the cache hit rate was rather low (~30%) so we increased the cache size from 64MB to 256MB on macOS and improved the cache hit rate by 2.7x to ~80%, improving the overall Speedometer 3.0 score by ~0.7%. In practice, this means lower latency for canvas operations and other painting operations.

Reducing Wait Time for GPU Process

Previously, we required a synchronous IPC call from the Web Process to the GPU process to determine which of the existing buffers had been released by CoreAnimation and was suitable to use for the next frame. We optimized this by having the GPUP just select (or allocate) an appropriate buffer, and direct all incoming drawing commands to the right destination without requiring any response. We also changed the delivery of any newly allocated IOSurface handles to go via a background helper thread , rather than blocking the Web Process’s main thread.

Improving Compositing

Updates to compositing layers are now batched , and flushed during rendering updates, rather than computed during every layout. This significantly reduces the cost of script-incurred layout flushes.

Improving Safari

In addition to optimizations we made in WebKit, there were a handful of optimizations for Safari as well.

Optimizing AutoFill Code

One area we looked at was Safari’s AutoFill code. Safari uses JavaScript to implement its AutoFill logic, and this execution time was showing up in the Speedometer 3.0 profile. We made this code significantly faster by waiting for the contents of the page to settle before performing some work for AutoFill. This includes coalescing handling of newly focused fields until after the page had finished loading when possible, and moving lower-priority work out of the critical path of loading and presenting the page for long-loading pages. This was responsible for ~13% progression in TodoMVC-React-Complex-DOM and ~1% progression in numerous other tests, improving the overall Speedometer 3.0 score by ~0.9%.

Profile Guided Optimizations

In addition to making the above code changes, we also adjusted our profile-guided optimizations to take Speedometer 3.0 into account. This allowed us to improve the overall Speedometer 3.0 score by 1~1.6%. It’s worth noting that we observed an intricate interaction between making code changes and profile-guided optimizations. We sometimes don’t observe an immediate improvement in the overall Speedometer 3.0 score when we eliminate, or reduce the runtime cost of a particular code path until the daily update of profile-guided optimizations kicks. This is because the modified or newly added code has to benefit from profile-guided optimizations before it can show a measurable difference. In some cases, we even observed that a performance optimization initially results in a performance degradation until the profile-guided optimizations are updated.

With all these optimizations and dozens more, we were able to improve the overall Speedometer 3.0 score by ~60% between Safari 17.0 and Safari 17.4. Even though individual progressions were often less than 1%, over time, they all stacked up together to make a big difference. Because some of these optimizations also benefited Speedometer 2.1, Safari 17.4 is also ~13% faster than Safari 17.0 on Speedometer 2.1. We’re thrilled to deliver these performance improvements to our users allowing web developers to build websites and web apps that are more responsive and snappier than ever.

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Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm and Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Kenneth Li and Daniel Wallis

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Supantha leads the European Technology and Telecoms coverage, with a special focus on emerging technologies such as AI and 5G. He has been a journalist for about 18 years. He joined Reuters in 2006 and has covered a variety of beats ranging from financial sector to technology. He is based in Stockholm, Sweden. 

An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 20-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her broke stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.

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