Apple has admitted defeat on the Safari design changes that have been present for the entire macOS Monterey beta, and the release candidate that was provided to developers today reverts to the old style that was available prior to Safari 15.

macos monterey safari design reverted

Safari design in the ‌macOS Monterey‌ release candidate


‌macOS Monterey‌ now features a standard Big Sur tab design that does have the tabs with spaces in between them, which Mac users who were unhappy with the design update will be pleased to hear.

macos monterey safari design original

Safari design in the prior ‌macOS Monterey‌ beta


The standard tab design is enabled by default and is labeled “Separate” in the Safari preferences, but for those who preferred the original Monterey Safari design, there’s also a “Compact” option that merges the URL bar with the tab bar.

Apple in the prior Monterey beta moved the Favorites bar back up above the tab bar, so now Safari looks about the same as it did prior to when Apple made the Monterey changes. There are, however, still new Safari features like Tab Groups.

‌macOS Monterey‌ with no changes to the Safari design will be coming on Monday, October 25.

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