How to move Safari’s search bar to where it belongs in iOS 15

With iOS 15, Apple tried to revamp the traditional Safari user interface. In some ways, this was an ambitious effort, like the way the user interface changes color to match the website you are browsing. The company’s decision to move the search bar to the bottom of the screen, however, was not so well received. Apple added the ability to move the bar up if you’re one of those people who can’t (or won’t) get used to the new design, but it’s not clear how to change it.

Why is the new search bar position such a challenge?

We have always been used to having the search bar located at the top of the screen, both on iPhone but also with just about all existing browsers. Moving it to the bottom of the screen really baffles you; I have been using beta all summer and still am not used to it.

In theory, this should be an improvement; the bottom of the screen is much easier to reach with one hand, especially on larger iPhones, and you can even use it to quickly switch between tabs, just like you switch between apps. From a design point of view, It makes sense.

The problem is, a lot of us are really hardwired at this point to expect the search bar to be at the top, and there’s no training that will stop us from trying to tap the top of the screen to run another web search, before remembering, “Oh, that’s right, it’s down now.”

Apple seems to know that its initial approach was not going to fly. With iOS 15 beta 6, the company not only redesigned Safari, but also added an option to bring the search bar back to the top of the screen. It’s not clear up front, however, that that option is here. Safari won’t notify you of this and you won’t find it anywhere in the app itself.

How to move the search bar to the top of the screen

Open Settings> Safari, and scroll to Tabs. To move up the search bar to the top of the page, press “Simple tab”(The tab bar will be selected by default). Now, when you return to Safari, you’ll find the search bar at the top of the browser, just like the gods of the internet intended.