Apple officially released the release candidate versions of macOS Monterey and Co. on Monday evening. As part of the update, the company brought back the old Safari tab design in macOS.
The Release Candidate version of macOS Monterey includes another redesign of Safari, reversing the web browser's interface changes affecting tab design. The first versions of the next-generation Safari 15, included in the first betas of macOS Monterey, had moved the tabs, navigation controls, and bookmarks bar. Apple placed a strong emphasis on saving space in the first versions, dropping the traditional format in favor of a design in which the tabs are presented as individual buttons separated by small spaces. The changes, which included color customization for websites, were confusing for some testers, as they had difficulty determining which tab was active when using Safari's compact view, which garnered a lot of criticism.
macOS Monterey: Users can choose
However, Apple has started to roll back some of the drastic graphical changes in recent betas to get closer to Safari's current design. In Safari's settings, the default option is now called "Separate," bringing back the traditional tab GUI, doing away with the button-like design unveiled at WWDC last year. Those who prefer the new look can enable it by selecting "Compact" in settings. While Safari 15's design has come full circle, new features like tab groups remain and are available in both "Separate" and "Compact" views. macOS Monterey will roll out to all users alongside iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, tvOS 15.1, and watchOS 8.1 on Monday, October 25, 2021. (Photo by New Africa / Bigstockphoto)
