10+ New Safari Features in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe You Probably Missed

Apple’s Safari browser has received a substantial upgrade with the release of iOS 26 and macOS 26 Tahoe, as revealed at WWDC 2025. These updates bring a modern Liquid Glass design, faster performance, enhanced privacy, and a host of new features that make Safari more powerful and user-friendly across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Here’s a deep dive into everything new in Safari—and how it transforms your web experience.

A Gorgeous New Look with Liquid Glass Design

Apple’s Liquid Glass aesthetic now spans across iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe, and Safari fully embraces it.

1. Translucent Interface Elements

The address bar, toolbars, and tabs in Safari now have a glassy, translucent appearance. The refractive controls feel like liquid glass layered over your content.  

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On iOS 26, the address bar blends seamlessly with the webpage you’re viewing. Moreover, the content appears from the top edge to the bottom of the screen. So, you can see more of the page than the previous white blocks.

 

On macOS Tahoe, the address bar and toolbar at the top of the browser reflect colors from the webpage. Therefore, as you scroll through the page, the colors change, making the interface feel more dynamic and immersive. This transparency makes your content stand out. 

2. Compact Layout Style That Prioritizes Content

Along with the new design, Safari in iOS 26 offers three different placement options for the address bar: 

• Compact (default)
• Bottom
• Top

The Compact layout hides the share, bookmark, and tab settings behind the three-dot button on the left of the URL bar. However, the Bottom and Top options retain the address bar’s position from earlier iOS versions, with a translucent look. Here’s how it looks:

 

You can switch between these layouts by going to Settings > Apps > Safari and selecting a layout under the Tab section, giving you flexibility to choose what you like.

Whichever layout you select, when you scroll through a webpage, the URL bar and buttons collapse into a single, narrow bar that just displays the webpage address. So, you can have an edge‑to‑edge browsing experience with more content on the screen. 

3. Minimal Buttons and Smarter Interactions

Safari in iOS 26 adopts a minimalist toolbar:

• Only a back button appears beside the address bar.
• Tap and hold the back button to reveal your browsing history or access the forward button.
• Tap and hold the address bar for quick tab options like Close Tab, Switch Tab Group, and more.

You are now able to tap and hold the address bar in order to show the tab settings like Close Tab, Close Other Tabs, Switch Tab Groups, etc. 

4. Rounded Tabs and Revamped Sidebar on Mac

On macOS Tahoe:

• Tabs now float as rounded, separated elements—improving visibility and navigation.
• A redesigned sidebar includes iCloud Tabs, Saved, and Shared With, making your content easier to find and organize. 

5. Unified and Customizable Safari App Icons

Safari’s app icon now follows the Liquid Glass look. You can choose from:

• Light
• Dark
• Tinted
• New Clear (glassy) version

This aligns Safari’s aesthetic with other redesigned system icons.

6. Web Apps for All Websites  

Safari 26 revolutionizes web apps by making it possible to add any website to your Home Screen as a web app on iOS 26, even if the site wasn’t built as a Progressive Web App (PWA).  

This helps users who desire direct access to their favorite sites without getting their browser cluttered with tabs or bookmarks. Here’s how it works:  

• If you add a site to your Home Screen (through the Share menu in Safari), it opens as a stand-alone web app by default. That is, it comes up as a full-screen app without Safari’s characteristic browser interface, which makes it look and feel very much like a native app.  
• You can choose whether a website opens as a web app or within Safari when adding it to the Home Screen. In the Share menu, toggle on/off Open as Web App. If disabled, the site will open in a new Safari tab, preserving the traditional browsing experience.  

• Web apps in Safari now offer push notifications (if the site allows it) to keep you informed without opening the browser. You can also access offline reading (for sites with PWA support) and smoother animations due to the Liquid Glass design.  
• macOS Tahoe also supports web apps. Tap the Share button on the toolbar and choose Add to Dock > Add. It will add the website to the Dock for easy access. These web apps launch in their own window, independently of Safari, and have the same simplified, app-like experience as on iOS 26.  

Privacy and Security Upgrades

Privacy is a cornerstone of Safari, and iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe introduce key upgrades to protect your data.

7. Improved Anti-Fingerprinting and Link Tracking Protection

Safari 26 has enhanced its defenses against fingerprinting, a technique employed by some websites to track users across the internet by analyzing their device’s unique characteristics. This ensures your browsing habits remain private. 

Before iOS 26, this auto-removal of tracking parameters from URL feature was only enabled for Private Browsing on Safari. But now, it’s set for all browsing by default, giving you peace of mind while browsing. 

Visual and Multimedia Enhancements

To make the Liquid Glass design more dynamic, Apple has introduced several visual enhancements. 

8. HDR Photo Support in Websites

Safari now supports HDR images, making photos on websites more vibrant with higher contrast and color accuracy, especially when viewed on HDR-capable devices.

9. SVG Icon Support

Apple also included SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) icons across the Safari browser, including the Start page, Favorites, and Favicons.

This makes icons sharper, more visually appealing, and more scalable, improving their appearance at any size without pixelation.  

Performance Boosts and Battery Gains

Safari is faster and more efficient than ever, thanks to optimizations on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe.  

10. Up to 50% Faster Page Loading

Apple claims Safari 26:

• Loads frequently visited sites up to 50% faster than Chrome, Edge, and Firefox
• Achieved through benchmarks like JetStream 2.2, MotionMark 1.3.1, and Speedometer 3.1

Devices tested include:

• iPhone 16 Pro Max (iOS 26)
• MacBook Air with M4 chip (macOS Tahoe)

11. Longer Streaming Time on Mac

Safari in macOS Tahoe offers:

• Up to 4 extra hours of video playback vs Chrome
• Tested with 1080p content on a MacBook Air with Apple Silicon

This makes Safari more battery-efficient for streaming and media consumption.

Tools for Developers

Safari 26 includes major upgrades for developers:

• WebGPU Support: Safari now officially supports WebGPU, a feature that enables websites to access your device’s graphics power for enhanced visuals, such as 3D video games or animations. This paves the way for more immersive web experiences. 
• CSS and WebKit Enhancements: New features in CSS include improved anchor positioning for tooltips, enhanced scroll animations, and refined text-wrap capabilities, all of which contribute to cleaner and more polished web content. 
• SwiftUI WebView and Web Apps: SwiftUI can now be utilized by developers to embed web content into apps with greater ease, and Safari allows for web apps on iOS 26. This implies that you can now open web app links directly, simplifying your workflow. 

Compatibility and Availability

Here’s how to try out Safari 26:

• iOS 26 supports iPhone 11 and newer
• macOS 26 Tahoe supports all Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and later)
• Developer beta is out now; public beta launches July 2025
• Final release expected in September 2025

What’s Still Missing

Despite the improvements, a few features are still absent:

• No Vertical Tabs: Many users were disappointed that the update doesn’t include vertical tabs, a feature available in browsers like Edge and Firefox. Vertical tabs could save screen space, especially on smaller MacBook displays, but Apple has not implemented this yet. 
• Mail App Enhancements: Some users expected improvements to Safari’s integration with the Mail app, such as better handling of multiple email addresses or easier attachment management. These features haven’t been announced, but future beta may address them. 
• Mixed Feelings on Liquid Glass: While the Liquid Glass design is visually appealing, some users find it distracting or less legible, especially with the transparent toolbar on macOS. Others adjusted by toning down the Liquid Glass effect but want back the compact tab layout. 

Apple will likely refine Safari based on beta feedback, so some of these issues may be resolved before the final release. 

Safari Has Leveled Up—Here’s What It Means for You

Safari in iOS 26 and macOS 26 Tahoe blends modern visuals with real-world usability and developer-focused enhancements. Whether you’re streaming, reading, or building web experiences, this is Safari’s biggest leap in years.

Which Safari 26 feature is your favorite? Drop your thoughts in the comments.