Apple releases 6 beta of iOS 15 for developers, check out new features

Apple has just released the sixth beta of iOS 15 for developers, and while we don’t know exactly what has changed with this update, the company has confirmed that iOS 15 beta 6 brings another redesign to Safari. This time, the company seems to have reversed some of the changes made to the iPhone version of Safari.

According to the release notes for iOS 15 beta 6, today’s update brings an option to show the Safari address bar at the top. Previous versions of iOS 15 introduced a new address bar that floats at the bottom of the screen, which caused several users to be unhappy with the new Safari.

Because of Safari’s new layout, multiple buttons have been hidden from the main app interface, such as the refresh page, bookmarks, and share buttons. Following the feedback from users, Apple has added some of those buttons back to the iPhone Safari address bar with iOS 15 beta 3.

Now the company is moving back to a more familiar interface for users that looks like Safari in iOS 14 and earlier versions of the operating system. When you go to Safari preferences in the iOS Settings app, there’s a new menu to choose between the unified address bar at the bottom of the screen or the classic Safari design.

Interestingly, even if you opt for the new design, Apple has made some changes to it in order to bring back some of the classic navigation buttons. Apple had already added similar options to Safari in iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey with previous betas.

While the company is not completely giving up on the new Safari design, it’s clear that most users seem not to have approved it as the old design is coming back as an option — which is quite unusual for Apple.

Safari Redesign

Apple in ‌iOS 15‌ beta 6 has added a toggle to move the Safari address bar to the top of the interface, which returns Safari to an iOS 14-like design and mitigates all of the Safari changes introduced in earlier betas.

Those who prefer the bottom bar can still opt to have that toggled on with the Tab Bar view, but Apple has also changed the look and the url bar at the bottom has been merged with a dedicated control panel that does away with trying to merge all page management options into a single address bar view.

Safari design options let you swap between the Tab Bar at the bottom or the Single Tab at the top, plus there are toggles to disable website tinting and enable or disable a landscape tab bar. “Allow Website Tinting” appears to be the same as the prior “Show Color in Tab Bar” setting that was available in earlier betas.

You can swap between the two views in Safari using the “Aa” menu right in Safari without having to access the Safari app.

Safari Bookmarks and History

When accessing Safari History, Bookmarks, and Reading List in ‌iOS 15‌ with the bottom Tab Bar view toggled on, the interface comes up from the bottom and takes up less space on the screen. With Single Tab enabled, the interface looks the same as it did before.

SharePlay Removed

SharePlay is no longer functional in the sixth beta of ‌iOS 15‌, because Apple has temporarily removed it. When ‌iOS 15‌, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and macOS Monterey launch, there will be no SharePlay feature available.

Apple instead plans to reintroduce SharePlay in a later software update this fall after the ‌iOS 15‌, ‌iPadOS 15‌, tvOS 15, and ‌macOS Monterey‌ updates debut.

Watch Face Automation

The fifth beta of ‌iOS 15‌ removed the Automation for automatically setting a watch face on the Apple Watch at a specific time, but in the sixth beta, the option is once again available in the Shortcuts app.

Other New Features

Know of something new in the beta that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.