Schocked about this. The bookmarks sidebar icon has shifted to the left and is hidden in landscape mode. Total idiocy.
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iPadOS 15 Safari Sidebar and Bookmarks
- Thread starter stoplis
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Doesn’t work in any mode for me. It used to be setup to remember your config in such a way that it would open when you opened a new tab and then autohide upon tapping a bookmark. Now it does none of those things and you can’t even close it manually without backing right out to the beginning. What used to be easy is now a chore. I understand bugs slip through the net but for a trillion dollar company to release this to market with such an unbelievably obvious problem is inexcusable.
The fiasco with the Safari sidebar, tabs, etc., plus the horrible mess of the Home pages with widgets, caused me to downgrade back to iPadOS 14.8. I couldn't stand how horrible iPadOS 15 was. Fortunately Apple is still signing iPadOS 14.8. Unfortunately the iPad I had upgraded to iPadOS 15 had already saved two iCloud backups under 15, so restoring from those would have just reinstalled iPadOS 15. However, I was able to downgrade then restore from an iCloud backup of another iPad that I had kept at 14.8. Both iPads pretty much mirrored each other as far as apps and data, so it went well and took less than an hour to accomplish.
iOS 15 is fine, and works well on my iPhone XR.
But as far as iPadOS 15 goes, I say to Apple, "FUA." (Pretty self explanatory, the "A" stands for "Apple" and I’m sure you get the drift for the first two letters.) I had never downgraded from any OS ever, but iPadOS is so horrible I had no choice...
iOS 15 is fine, and works well on my iPhone XR.
But as far as iPadOS 15 goes, I say to Apple, "FUA." (Pretty self explanatory, the "A" stands for "Apple" and I’m sure you get the drift for the first two letters.) I had never downgraded from any OS ever, but iPadOS is so horrible I had no choice...
My newest iCloud backup is from 14.8 but surely if I restore from that backup then it will just load everything back on top of 15?
Just came across this as well. Some pretty stupid decisions in this new release.
Maybe, I really don’t know since this was the first time I’ve ever downgraded. But you have to do a lot more than restore an iCloud backup. First you download the IPSW file for your device with iPadOS 14.8 onto you computer. Then you hook up the iPad to the computer and open iTunes or Finder (depending on what macOS version you have), then do a special thing to install the 14.8 back onto your iPad. That will basically wipe it clean. Once iPadOS 14.8 is reinstalled, then you go through setup for the iPad just like you do with a new iPad. During setup you are given the option to restore from an iCloud backup from that iPad or another compatible device.
To downgrade to 14.8 I used the instructions in this web article. It is simple, but it can take 30 minutes to an hour, so be patient.
So firstly, thankfully I’m not the only person to notice this and find it really annoying. The fact it works in portrait mode, that you can tap on the web page to hide the sidebar, this suggests that this is a bug and that the 15.1 build will address this… I guess things like this can be expected in initial releases of major upgrades… nothing to get too upset about is it…?
Where are tabs open on other devices? I see them in the “start“ page but in iOS 14 if you swiped up all open tabs would be listed. Now … nothing. You have to launch a new tab and scroll.
Is this perhaps because I haven’t updated my phone is 15 yet?
Is this perhaps because I haven’t updated my phone is 15 yet?
I joined up just to reply. I am appalled by this landscape sidebar design choice, even if it‘s a bug. It’s effectively unusable.
This Sidebar design or bug passed through all the Apple development cycle, the beta testers and the YouTubers and social media influencers who did reviews. I watched a few reviews, they love the sidebar, no-one brought this issue up.
This leads to a conclusion, no-one of importance at Apple must use an iPad in landscape in Safari. They must all use their iPad like a phone in portrait mode. No-one must use an iPad for serious web work, if they did they would have noticed the issue.
This Sidebar design or bug passed through all the Apple development cycle, the beta testers and the YouTubers and social media influencers who did reviews. I watched a few reviews, they love the sidebar, no-one brought this issue up.
This leads to a conclusion, no-one of importance at Apple must use an iPad in landscape in Safari. They must all use their iPad like a phone in portrait mode. No-one must use an iPad for serious web work, if they did they would have noticed the issue.
I hate it too. But in case you miss the work-around above, some of us are starting to use "favourites" instead of "bookmarks" to file frequently visited links. Then enable the favourite bar. It works quite well. While I still think the sidebar button is a bug/bad design choice, the favourite bar is working out really well for me.
You can rearrange the order of the new tab screen by choosing edit. I have my Privacy Report as #1, followed by iCloud Tabs and then Reading List.
Yes, and such a simple fix. Just leave the side bar icon visible like in MacOS Safari.
And have it auto hide after tapping a link. This is how it‘s worked for me since forever. Apple have broken a core function of their browser and it got through the entire beta process. This is not some obscure bug that no one could have noticed. Quite remarkable.
That really isn’t a workaround since it has been an option forever. I use the Favorites which display at the top, but they are single tiered and in no way replace the sidebar with its multitiered bookmarks. However, I found a good solution for me, I downgraded to 14.8. 15 screwed up the Home pages and Widgets, screwed up Safari in multiple ways other than just the sidebar, so it was pretty much an easy decision to go back to what works best for me, and that is 14.8.
I don’t know how it was on the iPad, but on desktop Safari pre 15 BS, once you opened a link from the bookmarks, the bookmarks sidebar disappeared. Which frankly was very smart. Obviously after I choose a bookmark, I don’t need to see the bookmarks anymore. All I can surmise is they changed the head of Safari. Only thing that makes sense. So many dumb baffling decisions.
Thanks, I tried a variation.
I created a new ”Bookmarks” folder, put all my links nested under that and made the new Bookmarks folder my Favourites in Safari. Then enabled the Favourites bar as well for the old favourites.
It works but is horrible. Because the links are all icons not list items the text is shortened, I can’t tell one for another in many cases.
just doesn’t work for me, I have hundreds of links which I also share with my Windows machines in Firefox and Chrome with the iCloud extension.
Another interesting point I just realised is that with the sidebar active in landscape mode. The viewed web page looks a lot like the page in portrait mode on that device. That is probably why the Apple testers missed it, it looks like the page they always use.
This says a lot about how the iPad is used, or maybe I am just overanalysing this 😀
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?? Not sure what you mean. It doesn't show up icons. It shows up as a list under the URL bar. Here's a screenshot under MacOS, but is similar in iPadOS..
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I wish software designers actually take time to use their own software for a few days in their daily life.
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