The iOS 26 Safari browser on iPhone evokes the new design system featuring Liquid Glass, with floating toolbars and buttons that shine through the web page content behind them as you scroll.But Apple has also taken the opportunity to revamp the design of the toolbar UI.By default, iOS 26 now uses a Compact layout which hides away some of the commonly used buttons.
However, there’s a way to change it back if you prefer something that looked like the iOS 18 design … For iOS 26, the new default mode is called Compact.In this mode, the URL bar sits at the bottom of the screen, detached from the edge, and aligns between the back button and the ••• button to reveal more page controls.It features a single row of controls.
As you scroll down, the elements shrink to a smaller minimized size, and bounce back when you scroll up.In Compact mode, you can use gestures to do some tab navigation that previously had visible buttons.For example, you can swipe on the URL bar to enter tab view.
Or, you can swipe side to side to switch to the next or previous tab.However, Compact may simply be too minimalist for the taste of some users, who want visible one-click buttons for things like Share, Tabs or Bookmarks.How to change iPhone Safari toolbar mode on iOS 26 If you want to use a different Safari layout on iOS 26, open Settings -> Safari -> Tabs and choose from Compact, Bottom or Top.
Here’s a full-screen comparison of each mode: The new Bottom design uses a floating design, but retains the essence of what iOS 18 called the ‘Tab Bar’ mode, with a full-width URL bar and a full-width toolbar of navigation controls when expanded.When you scroll down the page, the chrome minimizes and looks identical to the Compact layout mode.In Bottom mode, buttons for Share, Bookmarks and Tabs are always visible.
The traditional Top layout remains the most conservative option.This is a classic layout mode for users who are accustomed to having Safari with a header and footer layout.In Top mode, the URL bar stays affixed to the top of the screen and navigation controls appear in a toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
Like the rest of the system theme, the top and bottom toolbars are now floating rather than docked, so that their corners are concentric with the curved screen of the phone.And like previous OS versions, the toolbar also recedes on scroll.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day.
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