Apple Releases Safari 15.1 for macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina - MacRumors
Skip to Content

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

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...

Top Rated Comments

dannys1 Avatar
58 months ago
I want the old tabs with the colour matched title bar though!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
58 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)
winexprt Avatar
58 months ago
Thank god. Couldn't stand that design.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DesertDrummer Avatar
58 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)
58 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)
58 months ago
no more confusion!!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)