Safari’s biggest tab-management upgrade in years could finally end your browser clutter with iOS 27.3

Safari learns to tame tabs and dim bright pages.

By Shikhar Mehrotra Published November 3, 2026 2:11 PM

Rachit Agarwal / Apple | Digital Trends

Here’s a confession: I never close my browser tabs. I just let them pile up until my browser looks like a Tetris game I’ve already lost. Well, it looks like Apple is finally ready to help me clean up.

Apple’s first iOS 27.3 developer betas are here, and they add three new Safari features: Vertical Tabs, Adaptive Dark Mode, and Siri commands. It’s the one I’m most excited about.

What do Vertical Tabs and Adaptive Dark Mode actually change?

Vertical Tabs is the overdue one. It’s an optional left-hand sidebar that replaces the top tab row, showing only icons until you widen it to read full titles. In my opinion, this beats chopped-off labels any day.

Recommended Videos

It works with Tab Groups (saved sets of tabs) and Topics (Apple Intelligence’s automatic tab categories). You can turn the feature on in Safari’s settings or the View menu on Mac and iPad. I have a feeling that Vertical Tabs should also feel right at home on the iPhone Duo’s bigger screen.

Adaptive Dark Mode is what my tired eyes care about. Even with Dark Mode enabled, some websites don’t support it. When you land on one of those sites, Safari will show a prompt that uses Apple Intelligence to give the page a darker background.

You can keep it on everywhere or pick on a site-by-site basis.

What can Siri do in Safari, and who gets it?

I saved the best one for last. Apple’s conversational AI assistant, Siri, can now tidy Safari tabs and windows when you ask. Basically, you can use the new Siri ability to sort, close, or arrange them in Tab Groups. You can even wipe a site’s history for a set period, all with a natural language command.

In my experience, wrangling dozens of tabs by hand is exactly the chore a voice command should kill, so I’m cautiously optimistic.

The Siri features, however, need an Apple Intelligence-capable device. Whether Adaptive Dark Mode does too is murkier. And as this is a developer beta, I’d wait for the full release (likely in December) instead of gambling my daily browser.

Related Coverage

Shikhar Mehrotra

News Writer

For more than five years, Shikhar has consistently simplified developments in the field of consumer tech and presented them…

Topics

Computing

The 10 best VPN services for 2026, reviewed by experts

Our 2026 picks cover everything from privacy and streaming to speed, free plans, and unlimited device support.

VPN on a phone

In 2026, there is no shortage of choices when it comes to a VPN service. Most of the big names now offer strong encryption, large server networks, streaming support, and apps for nearly every major platform. The differences show up in speed, privacy policies, ease of use, pricing, device limits, and the extra features bundled on top.

We tested and compared leading VPN services to find the best options for different users, whether you want fast streaming, more privacy features, unlimited device support, or a free service that doesn't make too many compromises.

Computing

Google is making schools choose between AI and access to its Search engine

Google is using its Search dominance to armtwist schools into accepting AI

Google says it wants to give schools more control over how students use AI. But its proposed solution comes with a rather extraordinary condition: schools that opt to block AI entirely will also lose access to Google Search on student accounts. The conclusion is that schools can say no to Google’s AI, but they may have to give up one of the most fundamental tools students use to learn and research online.

The change, reported by The New York Times, is expected to take place early next year. Google is responding to concerns from parents and educators who want more control over how children interact with AI, the company said. But linking access to Search to acceptance of AI raises an uncomfortable question: is Google really giving schools a choice, or making it harder for them to say no?

Computing

Windows 11 is getting much-needed optimizations for PCs with just 8GB of RAM

Microsoft says its latest optimizations can make multitasking up to 40% faster on PCs with just 8GB RAM.

Windows 11

The situation in the budget laptop market is getting increasingly difficult, thanks to the skyrocketing cost of RAM and the competition from Apple's MacBook Neo. For Windows laptop makers, one way to keep prices affordable is to ship machines with just 8GB of RAM. But there's a problem. Windows 11 isn't exactly known for being gentle on memory.

Microsoft is now trying to fix that problem. The company says Windows 11 can now multitask up to 40% faster on PCs with just 8GB RAM, alongside a bunch of other improvements that reduce how much memory the operating system and its apps consume.