iOS 27.3 and macOS 27.3 add Vertical Tabs, Adaptive Dark Mode, and more to Safari

Apple just released the first betas of iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, and macOS 27.3, with some big changes to Safari. The updates add a new vertical tab layout, Adaptive Dark Mode, and Siri AI Custom Actions.

Vertical Tabs

Safari in iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, and macOS 27.3 is adding a new Vertical Tabs design option. If you choose this design, you’ll see your tabs arranged vertically along the left-hand side of Safari rather than along the top, as in the traditional Safari design.

By default, Vertical Tabs show as icons in order to maximize vertical and horizontal space. If you’d like, you can also resize the tab bar to see website titles.

To try Vertical Tabs in the new iOS 27.3 beta, head to the Settings app, choose Apps, tap Safari, then look for the new Vertical Tabs option. On Mac and iPad, the feature can also be enabled via the “View” menu in the Safari app directly.

Vertical tab layouts have become an increasingly popular web browser feature. Arc from The Browser Company popularized the option. Arc, however, ceased development last year, and The Browser Company announced last month that it will discontinue it altogether in December.

Adaptive Dark Mode

If you regularly visit a website that doesn’t support Dark Mode, Apple’s next round of software updates adds Adaptive Dark Mode. This will automatically apply Dark Mode to websites that don’t support the feature.

If Dark Mode is enabled on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and you visit a website that doesn’t support it, you’ll see a new “Try” button. If you tap this, Safari will automatically create a Dark Mode version of the website.

You can choose to have Adaptive Dark Mode automatically kick in or use it on a site-by-site basis.

Siri AI

Finally, Siri AI can now take direct action on tabs in iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, and macOS 27.3. This includes things like using Siri to move, sort, organize, and close your tabs.

In a future update, Siri’s on-screen awareness will also expand to include the entire content of a website, not just what’s visible on the screen at a particular moment.

Wrap up

iOS 27.3, macOS 27.3, and iPadOS 27.3 are rolling out to developers for beta testing today. The update will likely be released to everyone sometime in December. What do you think of these new Safari features? Will you try out the new Vertical Tabs feature? Let us know down in the comments.

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