iOS 27.3 brings 2 major innovations to Safari: Highly requested features arrive
A feature available on Google Chrome and many popular browsers for months is coming to iPhones with iOS 27.3. The new update released for developers includes comprehensive changes.
Apple's built-in browser Safari has been both stable and lacking functionality for years. Apple could not turn it into a browser like Chrome, Edge, or Opera. However, Safari is changing completely with iOS 27 and macOS 27. With iOS 27.3 and macOS 27.3 Beta released for developers, Safari received two new features available in popular browsers.
Apple released the first beta versions of the iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, and macOS 27.3 operating systems, and with this update, vertical tab layout, Adaptive Dark Mode, and Siri AI Custom Actions features were added to the Safari browser.
Vertical Tabs Move to the Left of the Screen
Recently, Chrome and many popular browsers display tabs vertically on the side. Apple brought these features to its built-in browser for Mac, iPad, and iPhone with the latest update.
Safari in iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, and macOS 27.3 offers users the option to select a vertical tab design instead of the traditional top tab bar. When this option is enabled, open tabs are listed vertically on the left side of the screen.
To expand horizontal and vertical workspace, the system displays tabs by default as icons only. Users who want to read website titles can manually adjust the width of this tab area on the left side.
To enable this feature on iOS 27.3 beta, users need to open the Settings app, select Safari from the Apps list, and activate the Vertical Tabs setting. Mac and iPad users can enable this layout directly from the "View" menu inside the Safari app.
Adaptive Dark Mode for Non-Supporting Pages
Meanwhile, on the dark mode side, Apple can display content in dark mode even if pages do not support it.
The feature called Adaptive Dark Mode automatically activates on websites that do not offer native dark theme support. This allows any page to be viewed in dark mode.
When dark mode is enabled on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac device and a web page lacking this support is opened, a "Try" button appears on the screen. When the user taps the button, Safari modifies the site's code structure to apply an automatic dark mode appearance to the page.
Apple also included the Safari-focused Siri AI Custom Actions feature in the update package.
Design Popularized by the Arc Browser
Vertical tab usage has recently become a frequently adopted layout among web browsers. The Arc browser developed by The Browser Company was influential in spreading this layout. The Browser Company halted development for Arc last year and announced last month that the browser will be completely shut down in December.
The iOS 27.3 beta update is currently available to developers. The mentioned features are accessible only to those who download this update.
Apple is expected to roll out the broad release for all users by the end of this month.
This article was translated from Turkish. Read the original article in Turkish.
