I got hit with the update and I'm not loving all the rounded corners, etc. look. But the change I dislike most and was pointed out 2 months ago (thread by someone else here), is that the height of the tab groups in this design is much bigger than past versions. Here's a group of screenshots to illustrate.
Middle and right are my own, from 2025 and today (Oct 2026). Look how much vertical space the tab groups take up compared to older designs. It's unnecessary. This is on standard. Compact is only slightly slimmer but it makes my top bar and bookmark bar way too cramped. I wish I could adjust the sidebar and top bars separately.
The far left was one of the only images I could find with multiple tab groups, it's just low-res. But you can see that between my screenshots, there was a design style where tab groups were even smaller. That's what I'd prefer! When I want to come back to that group, I will. In the meantime I don't need it taking up so much visual space.
I found a more recent screenshot that had the thinner tabs. Two tab groups today is almost the height 2.5 groups in older designs. If I have a dozen or more tab groups this means my sidebar list has gotten much longer!
- Image 1 = Comparison by lining up the bookmark bar
- Image 2 = Lined up the top of the tab groups with horizontal lines to show height of two tab groups from side bar
