Safari 27: Everything you need to know about Apple’s big browser update
Apple unveiled Safari 27 at WWDC 2026, its annual developer conference, loading the browser with artificial intelligence features aimed at managing tabs, securing passwords, and letting everyday users build their own extensions. The update arrives on iPhones, iPads, and Macs this fall alongside Apple’s broader software releases.
AI-Powered Tab Organization
Safari 27 analyzes open pages and automatically groups similar ones together. The feature is designed to reduce the clutter that builds up when users have dozens of tabs open at once. Early testing produced mixed results, but the concept is promising.
Apple is also introducing a tool called Notify Me. Users type a plain-English instruction telling Safari to watch a specific webpage for changes. The browser monitors the page in the background after the tab is closed and sends a notification when something updates.
Build Your Own Browser Extension
Safari 27 lets users create custom browser extensions — small programs that change how websites look or behave — using plain-English prompts. Apple says the feature makes website customization accessible to people with no coding experience. In hands-on testing, one extension built in roughly three minutes successfully changed webpage colors, though it disrupted some other page elements. Users can refine results by adjusting their prompts.
Extensions built this way sync across Safari on iOS devices as well. Developers also gain a separate new tool to package and distribute web extensions from any operating system without needing Xcode, Apple’s development environment.
Automatic Password Upgrades
Safari 27 connects directly with Apple’s Passwords app to automate credential security. When a password is weak or compromised, users can trigger an upgrade with a single tap. Apple Intelligence — Apple’s on-device AI system — logs into the relevant website, navigates account settings, and changes the password automatically. The process eliminates the need to manually dig through security menus on individual sites.
New Parental Controls
A feature called Ask to Browse gives parents direct oversight of children’s web activity. Children must request permission before opening any new website. Parents receive a notification on their iPhone or Mac to approve or deny the request. The feature works alongside updated communication safety tools that block violent content and graphic imagery across the system.
Interactive 3D Models
Websites can now display interactive 3D models natively on standard Apple devices. Apple previously limited the HTML model element — the underlying web code that enables 3D content — to its Vision Pro headset. Users on iPhones, iPads, and Macs can now rotate products or preview objects in augmented reality directly from a browser tab. Vision Pro users get an enhanced version that renders web models as fully immersive environments.
Layout Improvements and Bug Fixes
Developers gain access to CSS grid lanes, a tool that allows websites to create masonry-style layouts — staggered, Pinterest-like grids — without relying on heavy JavaScript code. Apple says its engineering team also focused on core stability, rewriting layout code that had been in place for 20 years and shipping more than 1,000 bug fixes since last autumn. One notable fix prevents websites from breaking when users type newer emojis that require extra data, sending them as standard text rather than numeric codes to avoid display errors.
