What is New in Apple Safari iOS/iPadOS 15 Browser?

There’s always some hype surrounding the release of a new iOS/iPadOS update. And as before, the fifteenth iteration did manage to do full justice to this anticipation.

While the overall system stability and enhanced security features were always on the cards, this time, Apple also introduced a truckload of new functionalities across its numerous apps. The FaceTime, Wallet, and Messages apps have all undergone some noteworthy changes.

IOS’s native browser has also welcomed a plethora of new goodies and some UI tweaks along the same lines.

This guide shall make you aware of all these changes in the latest Safari browser for iOS 15. So without further ado, let’s get started.

Revamped Start Page

As soon as you launch the browser, you would notice a completely revamped Start Page. Taking a page out of macOS Big Sur’s book, you could now access your Favorites, iCloud Tabs, Siri Suggestions, Bookmarks, Reading List, among others, directly from this menu.

You also have the option to customize this page and add or remove items according to your requirement. To do so, scroll to the end of the page and tap Edit. Now turn on/off the toggle next to the required feature.

Another pretty exciting feature that we noticed is the ability to customize this Start Page using any custom image of your choice. To do so, go to the Edit screen, enable the Background Image toggle, and select your preferred image.

If all these changes intrigue you, then this is just the tip of the iceberg. So let’s now make you aware of some other changes that the latest Safari browser has bought with iOS 15.

Re-Designed Tab Bar

Tab Bar (URL bar) has also undergone a major revamp. To begin with, its position has now been shifted to the bottom of your screen. However, it will act as a floating overlay window. Once you tap on it to enter a URL, the Tab bar would again shift to the top of your screen.

Then once the page reloads, the bar will again shift to the bottom, but rather than a floating window, it will now occupy the bottom-most part of the screen, in a condensed form.

Moreover, you may now easily access the previous/next tabs by simply performing a left or right swipe over this tab bar.

Next up, upon long pressing on this Tab Bar, you could get hold of a menu, with options such as Copy, Paste, Share, Tab Group, among others.

Then on the right of the bar are the three horizontal dots menu, tapping on which shall bring the Actions Menu. Next to it is the Tab Switcher window, which has also attracted quite a few eyeballs.

Tab Switchers and Tab Groups

While discussing Tab Bars, you might have gone through two new terms, Tab Groups and Tab Switcher. They are among the most talked-about features in the latest Safari browser for iOS 15. Let’s dig deep and check out what both these features hold for the end-users

First off, the Tab Switcher will now show all the opened tabs as vertical cards with large thumbnails. This makes it easier to identify the content within each tab without the need to open them.

Then if you long-press in an empty location inside this new window, you would see the option of creating a blank Tab Group (you may also long-press on the Tab Bar and select this option). This feature, as is evident from its name, allows you to group similar tabs under one roof so that they become easily accessible.

Likewise, you may also give each of these groups an identity by naming it according to the tabs that they behold.

Then, to customize any of these groups, head over to the desired group and then long-press on the tab of your choice. Then, you may act such as closing the tab, shifting it to any other group, or filtering these tabs based on their title or website.

Extensions Support

Well, no one saw it coming, but now that it is about to make its way, we guess no one would complain either! So as you would have thought, you would now be able to try out your preferred extensions directly on your iPhone’s Safari browser.

However, it all depends on when the developers release their extensions for this platform. Once that happens, installation is then just a few steps away.

Bottom Line: Apple Safari iOS/iPadOS 15

So these were all the new and noteworthy features that made their way over to the latest Safari browser on iOS 15.

Since I have a knack for keeping a plentitude of tabs opened at once, the Tab Group feature proved to be a timesaver for me.

Along the same lines, the support for extensions also had me all cheered up. However, it was the wholly revamped Tab Switcher that initially gave me a hard time. Upon subsequent usage, though, I got used to it.

What are your views on all these new tweaks that Safari has just welcomed? Then, do let us know in the comments section below.