Apple up to date lots of its built-in apps in iOS 26, and Safari is among the apps that has a number of notable modifications. There is a new look, an up to date format, and a brand new function set.
This information options all the modifications you’ll be able to count on to see in Safari when iOS 26 launches to the general public this fall.
Liquid Glass Design
Safari adopts the identical Liquid Glass design as the remainder of Apple’s apps, and you will primarily see it within the deal with bar, tab view, and buttons.
The buttons and tab bar have the Liquid Glass translucent look, and extra of the background of every web site is seen beneath them. The tab bar is extra compact and it takes up much less house, and every part is rounder.
Once you scroll down, the tab bar collapses down and also you simply see a small bar with the web site URL, so your complete focus is on the web site content material. Scrolling again up returns the tab bar to its full dimension.
Up to date Structure
There’s a new compact design possibility in iOS 26, however Apple left the choice to make use of the earlier High and Backside tab view layouts in case you desire these. Structure choices can be found within the Safari part of the Settings app.
Compact tucks away the share, bookmark, and tab choices behind the three-dot button on the left of the tab bar. It is a cleaner look, however it might be irritating in case you usually must entry options just like the tab menu. There’s a again arrow, which splits into ahead and again arrow choices if you’re navigating by way of content material. Settings like Translate and Reader mode are nonetheless out there by tapping on the small icon subsequent to the URL.
The High and Backside views provide the identical setup that is out there in iOS 18, however with a brand new Liquid Glass look. Each bars are slimmed down, and now not take up the complete width of the show.
Tab administration has been overhauled with the identical design modifications. The “+” button to open a brand new tab remains to be positioned on the left, and there is now a blue checkmark if you’re performed interacting with tabs. Within the middle of the tab view, there is a slider bar that exhibits your present variety of open tabs within the tab group that you simply’re in.
Swiping from left to proper means that you can shortly swap between your tab teams. Altering profiles might be performed with a dropdown menu on the prime of the show, and different tab administration instruments can be found by tapping on the “···” icon.
Net Apps
Once you add an internet site to your Dwelling Display in iOS 26, it is going to at all times open as an internet app. Net apps have been supported on the Dwelling Display in earlier variations of iOS, however net builders wanted to configure them to function as net apps.
If web sites weren’t configured correctly, they might open in Safari when added to the Dwelling Display. Now an internet site will open as a devoted net app, even when it hasn’t been explicitly set as much as work that method.
There’s an Open as Net App possibility that may be toggled off when including an internet site to a Dwelling Display in case you desire that web sites open up in Safari.
Monitoring Prevention
Superior fingerprinting safety now extends to all looking by default, somewhat than solely being turned on by default for personal net looking. Apple’s fingerprinting safety options are supposed to hold web sites from monitoring your machine utilization throughout web sites.
HDR Photographs
iOS 26 provides HDR picture assist to Safari. HDR pictures have a wider dynamic vary for brighter whites and deeper blacks, together with improved coloration gamut. P3 HDR pictures will now seem as meant in Safari on iPhones with XDR shows.
SVG Icons
Safari helps the SVG file format for icons wherever icons seem within the interface, together with the beginning web page, net apps, Safari tabs, menus, and extra.
SVGs are superior to PNGs as a result of they are often scaled up with out a lack of high quality, and in Safari, icons usually want to look at a number of completely different sizes.
WebGPU
Safari in iOS 26 contains WebGPU, a function that Apple has been testing in Safari Know-how Preview. WebGPU is just like WebGL, however it maps extra on to Metallic and the underlying iPhone {hardware}. WebGPU is not a consumer going through function that you’ll use immediately, however there will likely be advantages from it.
Net-based video games will have the ability to obtain increased body charges and higher results with decrease CPU load, plus picture editors, 3D modeling websites, CAD viewers, and web sites that do on-device ML ought to run sooner whereas utilizing much less battery. WebGPU requires an iPhone 15 Professional or later.
Digital Credentials API
Apple added assist for the W3C Digital Credentials API to Safari, which suggests an internet site is ready to request id paperwork like a driver’s license from Apple Pockets for personal and safe id and age verification.
The Confirm with Pockets on the Net function in iOS 26 makes use of the Digital Credentials API and takes benefit of biometric authentication. Web sites can ask prospects for data like date of start with out receiving pointless additional information, and prospects can approve the info sharing with Face ID or Contact ID.
The primary web sites that can assist the Confirm with Pockets on the Net function embody Chime, Turo, Uber Eats, and U.S. Financial institution.
Privateness Enhancements
The iOS 26 model of Safari prevents recognized fingerprinting scripts from accessing net APIs that may reveal machine traits like display screen dimensions, chopping down on the ways in which advertisers can observe you throughout web sites. These scripts are additionally blocked from setting long-lived storage like cookies, and from studying question parameters that may very well be used for navigational monitoring.
Reporting Web site Compatibility Points
A brand new function helps you to report a problem in case you’re having hassle with a webpage. Within the Web page menu, Apple is including a “Report a Web site Concern” possibility that allows you to share data with Apple to enhance Safari.
Launch Timing
iOS 26 is out there to builders proper now, and Apple plans to launch a public beta in July. After a couple of months of testing, iOS 26 will launch alongside new iPhones in September.
Learn Extra
We’ve got a devoted iOS 26 roundup that goes into element on all the new options which are out there within the replace.