How do I close a tab with IOS 8?

[tawcat]

Used to have that little "x" to the left of a tab. Now I really don't even see the tab let alone the "x."

Seems to me if I can't close a tab, the thing will deplete the battery.

Is there a way to go back to IOS 7?

Thanks, somehow updates/upgrades really make me feel stupid.

 

[twerppoet]

In Settings > Safari you can turn on -Show Tab Bar-.

If you have more than one tab open, you will see the the tabs and the (x) to close the current tab. If you only have one tab open, the bar goes away.

To see all your open tabs you can tap the new double box icon at the top right. This will show you thumbnails of all the open tabs. You can remove them by either tapping the (x) at the top left corner, or by swiping the thumbnail to the left.

If you have a Mac or another iOS device, you might be able to scroll down and see the open tabs on those devices. When it works, it makes it easy to switch from one device to another and continue browsing the same sites.

This view is also the new way to switch Private mode on/off. Or one of them, anyway. There might be others that I have not discovered yet.

 

[tawcat]

Thanks. I kinda figured out the second tab thing. How do I close the Safari window. In IOS 7 I could go to a home (blank) window. Just seems to me if I close Safari with a tab/window open it'll continually refresh therefore draining battery. Is this something I should even be concerned about?

 

[twerppoet]

It shouldn't cause any issues leaving a single tab open; but if you want to close it use the double box icon I mentioned, then either tap on the (x) on the one huge thumbnail, or swipe it to the left (similar to how you swipe thumbnails up in the multitask bar.

This new thumbnail view is very similar to how Safari works on iPhones under iOS 7 (and probably iOS 8). I suspect it is an attempt to make it less jarring (interface wise) when moving between the two devices.

 

[tawcat]

Twerppoet: thanks so much. Not owning an iPhone I'm not so used to the swipe actions. Think I got it. I see where the swipe has entered the email world as well.

Old and stubborn, but I'll get used to it. Thanks again.

 

[twerppoet]

No problem.

 

[s2mikey]

I'm pretty sure you can also close that final open tab by doing a two finger pinch in the center of the screen which will show that last tab contents in a smaller window where you'll see an X in the upper left hand corner. That works too.

 

[Dakotapix]

I'm also unhappy about the lack of the little x when only one tab is open. The two finger gesture does indeed work well but it seems as though suddenly we are required to use one additional move to accomplish closing a tab when before it was a simple tap on an x. I prefer to use the icon view to select web sites from Safari and find this change pretty darned annoying. I have to believe it's a mistake on Apple's part. No reason to eliminate the x.

 

[twerppoet]

I'm pretty sure you can also close that final open tab by doing a two finger pinch in the center of the screen which will show that last tab contents in a smaller window where you'll see an X in the upper left hand corner. That works too.

Nice catch. The pinch goes to the same screen as the double page icon. Besides tapping the (x), you can also swipe the tumbnail to the left to close the tab.