Safari vertical tabs are part of the iOS 27.3 beta, as per the latest update from Apple. The beta also adds Adaptive Dark Mode, which shows bright websites in a dark view when they have no dark mode of their own. Apple seeded the beta to developers on November 3, and iOS 27.3 is set for a public release in December. Vertical tabs run on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and Apple calls the layout a space-efficient design that gives more of the screen to the webpage.
Safari vertical tabs put the tab list down the side of the screen
Vertical tabs are an alternative to the standard horizontal tab bar. Each tab shows only its site icon by default, which keeps the list narrow, and you can widen the bar to show page titles as well.
Federico Viticci posted about vertical tabs on X after the beta went out.
Hell freezes over: Safari has vertical tabs in 27.3! Finally. https://t.co/gjEFYEPrsx
— Federico Viticci (@viticci) November 3, 2026
On Mac and iPad you turn the layout on from the View menu in Safari. The option is also in Safari’s settings on every supported device, including iPhone Duo. Mac users get Safari 27.3 in the macOS Golden Gate 27.3 beta. Apple is also testing Safari 27.3 on macOS Tahoe and macOS Sequoia, and it has not said which of the new features those Macs get.
Adaptive Dark Mode darkens bright sites, and Siri AI can manage tabs
Adaptive Dark Mode is for pages that have no dark design of their own. When your device is in Dark Mode and you open a site with a bright background, Safari offers to try a dark version of the page. After you try it, you choose whether to use Adaptive Dark Mode on every bright site or only on that one. Apple built it for browsing at night or in dark environments, and Safari’s XML document viewer gets a dark mode too.
Viticci also posted about Adaptive Dark Mode, noting that it can be set per website.
Apple just Sherlocked a bunch of utilities: Safari for 27.3 comes with Adaptive Dark Mode that automatically generates a dark appearance for websites that don’t have one. Can be configured on a per-website basis. https://t.co/R8X8VJxwy0
— Federico Viticci (@viticci) November 3, 2026
The beta gives Siri AI control over Safari tabs. It can move, sort and close them and help manage browsing history, but only on devices that support Apple Intelligence. Siri AI is still in beta in iOS 27.2, and Apple has committed to adding four more languages by the end of the year.
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