How to Stop Prompting Siri on iOS 26 Instead of Safari Tabs
The new redesigned Safari on iOS 26 minimizes the tab bar when the user is not going through the tabs themselves. It doesn’t matter what layout of the tab bar — Safari still minimizes the tab bar to the smallest possible size, much akin to the status bar on the traditional browsers.
On iOS, there is yet another tappable item that lives near the bottom edge of the screen — the home indicator. Since the removal of the home button, the bottom edge has been acting as the equivalent touchscreen counterpart. What it means for iOS 26 users, however, is that you are now more likely to press home button accidentally while trying to bring up the Safari tab bar instead. Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue other than bringing up a small bar, but with legacy Siri, it may bring up the voice assistant instead of the Safari’s tab bar.
The fix for the most users who do not need to type to Siri is simple. In Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > under Siri Request, Talk & Type to Siri > Disable “Type to Siri”.
For anyone who prefers to type to Siri, there are additional steps. On iOS 26, either by design or by accident, the option to type with side button is removed once Apple Intelligence is activated. In other words, by simply disabling Apple Intelligence temporarily the option to type to Siri returns. The actual option is in Settings > Accessibility > under General, Siri > “Type to Siri”. And be mindful it will disappear again when the Apple Intelligence is enabled.
Frankly, I think it’s a blunder on Apple’s part for not relocating all of Apple Intelligence & Siri tasks to the side button. In fact, I think it’s a blunder that Apple resorted to adding a new button on the side after it tried so hard to remove another in the first place. As far as I am aware, neither the Action button and the Camera control are not integral part of the interface yet.