The death of the search bar (as we know it)

Open Apple Mail. The search field used to be at the top. In iOS 26 it's at the bottom permanently. At first glance, you would assume it's to bring it closer to your thumbs (a basic UX law) but if you think on it more, it's linked to a behavioural shift.

For twenty years, the search bar lived in the top-right corner like a fire extinguisher: useful in emergencies, ignored the rest of the time. You went there when navigation failed you. However, with the advent of conversational UX taking over and "UI is dead" hype train, "search" is on a decline and YET it's also becoming prominent and a starting point in many applications.

Confused?