macOS becomes iOS: Safari video controls

September 20, 2025
By Jeff Johnson of Underpass App Company

At WWDC 2018, Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi asked, “Are you merging iOS and macOS?” This rhetorical question was presumably in response to widespread criticism. Federighi’s rhetorical answer was, “No. Of course not.”

Nonetheless, as we’ve seen repeatedly since then, this denial did not age well.

My Safari extension StopTheMadness Pro includes a feature “Show native video controls” that allows you to access the built-in video controls even on websites such as YouTube that hide Safari’s controls and replace them with the site’s custom HTML controls. A customer recently contacted me to report that the “Show native video controls” feature makes videos darker on macOS Tahoe, and I was able to reproduce the issue myself. At first I believed that the phenomenon was some kind of Liquid Glass nonsense, because I couldn’t reproduce it on macOS Sequoia. On further testing, however, I noticed that the darkening of videos also occurs on iOS 18, which my iPhone still runs (for as long as I can hold out). Indeed, the darkening of videos has nothing in particular to do with StopTheMadness Pro and occurs even when the extension is disabled entirely. Safari itself darkens videos on iOS 18, iOS 26, and now macOS 26 when its native video controls are displayed. If you wait several seconds for the video controls to disappear, or you move your Mac mouse pointer out of the frame, the video returns to its normal level of lightness; I guess that during my brief initial testing, I was too impatient to discover this!

Below is an example video showing the native controls.

And below are screenshots of the video, first on macOS Sequoia, second on macOS Tahoe.

Seriously, why??? I thought Liquid Glass was supposed to “bring greater focus to content”? Darkening videos brings less focus to content!

I wasn’t able to test iOS 17 or iOS 16, but I still have an older iPhone running iOS 15 that I use essentially as an iPod to play music during workouts, and it turns out that Safari video controls on iOS 15 do not darken videos. Thus, Apple made this change sometime between iOS 16 and iOS 18, and now Apple has brought it to macOS 26 Tahoe too.

In other words, yes, Apple is continuing to merge iOS and macOS.

Keep your files stored safely and securely with the SanDisk 2TB Extreme Portable SSD. With over 69,505 ratings and an impressive 4.6 out of 5 stars, this product has been purchased over 8K+ times in the past month. At only $129.99, this Amazon’s Choice product is a must-have for secure file storage.

Help keep private content private with the included password protection featuring 256-bit AES hardware encryption. Order now for just $129.99 on Amazon!

Help Power Techcratic’s Future – Scan To Support

If Techcratic’s content and insights have helped you, consider giving back by supporting the platform with crypto. Every contribution makes a difference, whether it’s for high-quality content, server maintenance, or future updates. Techcratic is constantly evolving, and your support helps drive that progress.

As a solo operator who wears all the hats, creating content, managing the tech, and running the site, your support allows me to stay focused on delivering valuable resources. Your support keeps everything running smoothly and enables me to continue creating the content you love. I’m deeply grateful for your support, it truly means the world to me! Thank you!