Apple Releases Safari 15.1 for macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina

Apple today released Safari 15.1 for macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina, giving Mac users who do not have macOS Monterey installed access to the latest Safari features.

macOS Monterey Release Candidate Safari Tabs Feature
Safari 15.1 reintroduces the previous tab design that was available prior to Safari 15. With Monterey and Safari 15, Apple introduced a new "Compact" look that changed the design of the tabs and unified them with the URL bar, but many people were not fond of that design.

In Safari 15.1, Apple undid those design changes and returned Safari to its pre-Monterey look, doing away with the updated design and the feature that blended the top bar in Safari with the background color of websites. Those who liked the new design can still enable it in Safari preferences, but the old design is the default.

Safari can be downloaded on machines running macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina by going to System Preferences > Updates. If you have macOS Monterey 12.0.1 installed, you already have Safari 15.1.

Tag: Safari

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Here's When to Expect the iOS 26 Public Beta

Tuesday July 15, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
Apple previously announced that a public beta of iOS 26 would be available in July, and now a more specific timeframe has surfaced. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said that Apple's public betas should be released on or around Wednesday, July 23. In other words, expect the public betas of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and more to be available at some point next week. Apple will be releasing...
iPhone 17 Colors

All 15 New iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Colors Revealed in Latest Leak

Wednesday July 16, 2025 6:50 am PDT by
We may finally have a definitive list of all color options for the iPhone 17 series, ahead of the devices launching in September. MacRumors concept In a report for Macworld today, Filipe Espósito said he obtained an "internal document" that allegedly reveals all of the color options for the upcoming iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max models. The report includes ...
Apple Hornsby

Apple Store Near Sydney Permanently Closing Later This Year

Monday July 14, 2025 6:14 pm PDT by
Apple today said its store at the Westfield Hornsby shopping mall, in Hornsby, Australia, will be permanently closing in October. Apple Hornsby In a statement shared with Australian tech news website EFTM (via Reddit), Apple said that it has decided not to renew its lease at Westfield Hornsby. Apple said all affected retail employees will be given the opportunity to work at Apple's nearby...

Top Rated Comments

dannys1 Avatar
49 months ago
I want the old tabs with the colour matched title bar though!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
49 months ago
It's minor and doesn't really matter, but…




Why is "Show color in Compact Tab Bar" in "Advanced"? You already have the Compact/Separate radio buttons in "Tabs". Why not simply show the checkbox when "Compact" is selected.

(Also, that blue border is really slim. It's barely noticeable that "Separate" is selected.)

Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DesertDrummer Avatar
49 months ago
Thank you, Apple. This was the right call from a UX perspective. People who love Compact Layout can still use it, and those of us who prefer Separate Layout can keep the previous version of it, which was more usable in that format.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
winexprt Avatar
49 months ago
Thank god. Couldn't stand that design.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jim Lahey Avatar
49 months ago

iOS 16 won’t have any design changes as apple will be scared to change anything; I miss the days apple told up what we like and we get used to it
Changing stuff in the pursuit of increased usability is cool. Breaking what already works is not.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
riptidewahoo Avatar
49 months ago
no more confusion!!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)