In the new iPadOS 15 beta, Apple makes its controversial Safari redesign optional, letting users choose a more conventional tab layout in settings

Enable the new (bad) tab experience in settings — Apple has started trickling out its fourth iOS and iPadOS 15 betas …

The Verge 2021-07-28 Ian Carlos Campbell

Context & Ripple Effects

Safari’s revamp arrived alongside the broader iOS and iPadOS 15 public-beta changes, but Apple had already appeared to soften the parallel macOS tab overhaul in a Monterey developer-beta revision. The iPad setting makes that retreat explicit: the new layout is no longer the only path for testers.

The later release-candidate coverage shows the direction held: Monterey restored the old tab design as default while retaining the original redesign as a Compact option in Safari’s configurable tab choices.

First-order effects

iPadOS 15 beta users can retain a conventional Safari tab layout rather than adopt the redesigned interface, reducing the immediate usability cost of the beta change.
Apple can continue testing its redesigned Safari tabs without requiring every iPadOS tester to use them.

Second-order effects

Safari’s macOS rollout is pushed toward the same choice-based model, reinforcing Apple’s earlier rollback of the Monterey tab revision rather than a single uniform tab design.
The redesign’s success is measured less by forced adoption than by whether users voluntarily select the newer layout, raising the importance of beta feedback in final interface decisions.

Third-order effects

If this pattern persists, Apple’s major interface redesigns will more often preserve familiar defaults while treating new interaction models as opt-in modes during transition periods.
That approach favors cross-platform consistency in the availability of choices, rather than consistency through one mandatory Safari layout.

The trend: Apple is shifting contentious Safari interface changes from mandatory redesigns toward configurable transitions that preserve familiar controls.

Discussion

@viticci Federico Viticci on x
There's a total of *six* different touch targets in the iOS 15 beta 4 tab bar in Safari. These exclude the ability to long-press the tab bar, swipe across it to change tabs, and swipe it up to open the Tabs view. I'm...starting to think a single, small toolbar just won't do. 😬 ht…
@viticci Federico Viticci on x
There are more changes to Safari for iPhone in iOS 15 beta 4: - The share button is back in the tab bar - Reload button is back, next to domain name - Quicker access to bookmarks - One-tap Reader button appears on articles https://twitter.com/...
@gruber John Gruber on x
@viticci I think it's fair to say there are *8* touch targets, because the left and right sides are effectively previous/next tab buttons. https://twitter.com/...
@zzanehip Zane on x
I really don't like Safari in iOS 15 Beta 4, and I'm not game to use Chrome....might just make a dedicated app out of Safari in OldOS, would anyone want it if I did?
@heylandong Landon Gonsalves on x
Thank the lord! New Safari is 🗑🚮 https://twitter.com/...
@kevinctofel Kevin C. Tofel on x
Not to be “that guy” but this is what public betas are for. I think it's a smart move to make it optional and collect more data & feedback. https://www.theverge.com/...
@lapcatsoftware Jeff Johnson on x
Safari engineers like “git revert; git revert; git revert”
@lukemiani Luke Miani on x
Every day I use iPadOS 15 and every day it disappoints me
@viticci Federico Viticci on x
@gruber @reneritchie There is, of course, a hidden long-press menu. The Reader icon in the address bar only flashes briefly when an article loads. None of this is great. https://twitter.com/...
@flyosity Mike Rundle on x
This is what happens when a designer falls in love with their solution instead of the user's problem. https://twitter.com/...
@snazzyq Quinn Nelson on x
iOS 15 Safari for iPhone can't get worse, right? ...right? ...guys? https://twitter.com/...
@mehedih_ Mehedi on x
tell me you need therapy without telling me you need therapy, apple will go first https://twitter.com/...
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
Yeah obviously this is insane. Might need some sandpaper to file down our fingers as someone once said... Can't recall the guy's name... https://twitter.com/...
@chrishannah Chris Hannah on x
With the amount of tampering that Apple have done with the new Safari design in the betas, I think it would be wise for the whole redesign to postponed for a later point release. That way they can spend more time getting feedback instead of rushing small tweaks.
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
There is maybe one month? left before iOS has to sign off on a finalized release candidate, which leaves very little room to maneuver here. Now is the part where you can get justifiably worried that it just might ship like this
@viticci Federico Viticci on x
Here's what I think about the new Safari for iPhone at this point: I'm sure there are people who appreciate the compact tab bar at the bottom. But, it breaks so much muscle memory, the trade-offs may not be worth it for *a lot* of people. Leave this in, and make it optional.
@rjonesy Ryan Jones on x
I'm worried. Dunno about @gruber's little birdies that bigger changes are coming. That's not “Apple beta like” and this doesn't help. https://twitter.com/...
@mukondli @mukondli on x
It's a nightmare. https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
Adding the earlier iOS 15 behavior as an option on iPad shows that somebody is *convinced* this design was the right choice, and that everybody else is wrong about it. If it were the right choice, you wouldn't have spent entire summer trying to fix it 🤷‍♂️ This option is all ego …
@gtinari George on x
honestly, i think the new design could work at this point if they'd just cave and split the address bar and the other buttons into two lines, but still both at the bottom of the screen. https://twitter.com/...
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
I for one am not looking forward to trying to explain the new Safari UIs to my parents, or to hear about how much they hate the change for the next several years. It has broken something fundamental about a core UI element of all of Apple's OSes that people use daily
@harrymccracken Harry McCracken on x
The saints be praised. (The new version was textbook “some interesting ideas here, but they create 3X the problems they solve.") https://www.theverge.com/...
@guttmnn Judah Guttmann on x
Safari is the entire story of the iOS 15 betas. At this rate they are going to back pedal all the way to iOS 14 Safari by the time we reach RC in September. https://twitter.com/...
@parkerortolani Parker Ortolani on x
@zzanehip What you should do is remake the iOS 14 Safari with the iOS 15 tab view!
@gruber John Gruber on x
@viticci @reneritchie How is a normal person going to get into Reader Mode come fall, when they upgrade from iOS 14?
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
IMO that effort should have been put into making Safari's tab UI a system control so that all apps could use it, much like what happened on macOS — powering the tabbed windowing model we all rely upon today on the desktop
@viticci Federico Viticci on x
Additionally: - The tab bar now automatically minimizes when interacting with buttons on websites. - There's a new ‘docking’ behavior for the tab bar above the keyboard when you tap into search boxes on websites. Overall, seems like Apple is adapting to websites after all. https:…
@stroughtonsmith Steve Troughton-Smith on x
They're throwing everything at this design to try and make it work 😅 (I don't think it does) https://twitter.com/...

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