Perplexity upgrades Comet iOS browser with phone number actions, iPad sidebar polish, Finance Deep Dive tabs

Perplexity has released a major update to its Comet AI browser for iOS, adding eight new features two months after the app's initial iPhone and iPad launch.

Key updates

The update focuses on interaction improvements and bug fixes:

Phone number actions: Users can now call, FaceTime, message, or save phone numbers to Contacts directly from any web page with one tap.

iPad sidebar redesign: The sidebar now features smoother slide animations, a tidier layout, and window-adaptive sizing.

Finance Deep Dive tabs: Long-form financial analysis now opens as standard browser tabs rather than overlays.

Search context persistence: Search results now maintain their position when users switch away and return to the app.

Image drag-and-drop: Users can drag images from any tab directly into the AI assistant.

Adaptive Omni-box: The search bar now adapts smoothly to page themes without flickering when switching between light and dark sites.

Persistent clearing: The "Clear All" function for recently closed tabs now persists across app restarts, addressing a bug where cleared items would reappear.

Deleted thread fix: Opening old links to deleted conversation threads will no longer resurrect them.

According to Perplexity, the update also includes crash fixes for clearing data and closing tabs, improved favicon rendering, and refined bottom controls on iPhone.

Timeline

Comet launched on Mac in July 2025, arrived on iOS in March 2026, and received iPad multitasking improvements in April 2026. This marks the second significant iOS update in two months.

The Comet browser combines traditional web browsing with AI chatbot functionality, allowing users to query AI models while using web pages as context.

What this means

Perplexity is iterating rapidly on Comet to differentiate it in a crowded browser market. The phone number actions and persistent bug fixes address basic usability issues that should have been resolved at launch. The Finance Deep Dive tab integration suggests Perplexity is positioning Comet as a tool for research-heavy workflows, particularly for users analyzing financial information. However, the update list reveals quality control problems—needing to fix "deleted threads stay deleted" and "clear all actually sticks" indicates the initial iOS release shipped with significant bugs.