Safari finally gets 3 popular browser features - and I can’t wait to try them

Apple has released developer betas of MacOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, and iOS 27.3, bringing three major Safari upgrades: vertical tabs, adaptive dark mode, and deeper Siri AI integration. The features are available first to developers for testing and are scheduled for public release in mid-December. The betas cover Apple's Mac, iPad, and iPhone platforms.

Adaptive dark mode will let Safari display any website in dark mode, including sites that do not support it natively. A WebKit blog post, cited in the report, states that 40 percent of web page loads come from dark mode users while only 10 percent of web pages natively support it. According to the post, the feature uses a color matrix to invert the luminosity of colors while preserving hue, and it distinguishes between decorative color and color that carries substantial meaning so the experience stays consistent between light and dark modes.

Vertical tabs will bring vertical navigation and drag-and-drop tab reorganization to Safari. The layout allows page titles to remain readable when many tabs are open and is suited to widescreen monitors. The report notes that vertical tabs are not a new concept for browsers generally but will be new to Safari.

Siri AI is expected to be woven further into Music, Messages, Photos, Calendar, and Safari. According to 9to5Mac, users can ask Siri AI to create a playlist in Music and save it to their library, request messages scheduled for a later send, organize and label photos, and create a detailed calendar invite by voice. The same reporting states that Siri AI features will also appear in Maps, Weather, Shortcuts, and Notes, with more cross-app functionality and the ability to execute complex, multi-step tasks within apps.

The features arrive as Apple continues to expand AI across its device lineup. Siri AI's spread into Maps, Weather, Shortcuts, and Notes signals that the assistant will be present across Apple's devices rather than confined to a single app. The Safari changes apply to the browser on Mac, iPad, and iPhone once the software ships to the public.

Apple device users in the US will see the features when the updates leave beta in mid-December. The developer betas are available now for testing ahead of that release.

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