Apple releases Safari 15.1 for macOS Big Sur and Catalina with traditional tab design

Apple on Wednesday released a new version of Safari for macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina that reverts controversial tab user interface changes to a more familiar layout seen in previous iterations of the web browser.

Available now for macOS Big Sur and Catalina, Safari 15.1 reverses UI design decisions introduced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June and later rolled out to developers with initial macOS Monterey beta releases this summer. More specifically, the divisive "Compact" view that was previously set as Safari's default has been reverted to a more traditional "Separate" tab bar arrangement.Apple attempted to rethink conventional web browser design by implementing a layout that brought the tab bar in line with Safari's URL bar, browser navigation controls and bookmarks bar. Tabs were delineated as individual buttons separated by small spaces, while a color tab bar option matched Safari's base color with prominent hues displayed on an active website.

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