The speaker one threw me for a loop today and I hate it. So much harder to scan for... Beyond that, I do not understand why the active tab cannot be "connected

The speaker one threw me for a loop today and I hate it. So much harder to scan for... Beyond that, I do not understand why the active tab cannot be "connected" to the browser chrome. I don't hate the strong shadow nor the subdued non-active tabs but the disconnect feels like an unnecessary abstraction.