Vivaldi (web browser)

Vivaldi  is a freeware, cross-platform web browser with a built-in email client developed by Vivaldi Technologies, a company founded by Tatsuki Tomita and Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, who was the co-founder and CEO of Opera Software. Vivaldi was initially released on 27 January 2015.

Although intended for general users, it is first and foremost targeted towards technically-inclined users as well as former Opera users disgruntled by its transition from the Presto layout engine to a Chromium-based browser that resulted in the loss of many of its distinctive features. Despite the fact that it is also Chromium-based, Vivaldi aims to revive the features of the Presto-based Opera with its own proprietary modifications.

Vivaldi replaced Firefox as the default browser on the Manjaro Cinnamon Community Edition. , Vivaldi has more than 2.9 million active users.

History
Vivaldi began as a virtual community website that replaced My Opera, which was shut down by Opera Software in March 2014. Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner was angered by this decision because he believed that this community helped make the Opera web browser what it was. Tetzchner then launched the Vivaldi Community—a virtual community focused on providing registered users with a discussion forum, blogging service, and numerous other practical web services—to make up for My Opera's closure.

Later, on 27 January 2015, Vivaldi Technologies launched the first technical preview of the Vivaldi web browser. In the first 10 days of being available, Vivaldi was downloaded 500,000 times, which, according to Jon von Tetzchner, was "a very high number, especially if you consider that it's still a technical preview". Its name comes from the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, which, according to Tatsuki Tomita, is an easy name to be remembered and understood worldwide.

The first stable release of the browser, version 1.0, was released on 6 April 2016. Initially being available only for Linux, macOS, and Windows, Vivaldi was launched with the intent of giving additional functionality, when other browsers on the market at the time tried "their best at simplifying, and streamlining their products", according to Ars Technica.

In September 2021, Vivaldi replaced Firefox as the default browser on the Manjaro Cinnamon Community Edition to a mixed reception from the Linux community, as Vivaldi is not free and open source software; Manjaro developers cited this decision on Vivaldi's feature-richness and exceptional customisability. In December 2021, Vivaldi became the first web browser to be available for the Android Automotive operating system used in the Swedish electric vehicle manufacturer Polestar's Polestar 2. For safety purposes, the browser can only be used when the car is parked.

Features


Vivaldi has a minimalistic user interface with basic icons and fonts, and, optionally, a colour scheme that changes based on the background and design of the web page being visited. The browser also allows users to customise the appearance of UI elements such as background colour, overall theme, address bar and tab positioning, and start pages. According to CEO Jon von Tetzchner, Vivaldi's unique customisability is how the browser caters to experienced users.

Vivaldi comes with built-in ad blocker, pop up blocker and tracker blocker. These features block intrusive ads, help web pages load faster, and protect against malicious ads and trackers. It comes with built-in e-mail client with IMAP and POP3 support. Some of the Mail features are saved searches and offline message search. The browser can be used as a feed reader to save RSS and Atom feeds. It also comes with built-in Vivaldi Calendar to manage events in the browser. Vivaldi Translate is powered by and can instantly translate websites, without the need for third-party extensions.

Vivaldi features the ability to "stack" and "tile" tabs, annotate web pages, and add notes to bookmarks. Furthermore, users can place digital bookmarks on a "speed dial" page for quick access and harness "quick commands" to search bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, and settings. Vivaldi is built around and based on web technologies such as HTML5, Node.js, React.js, and numerous NPM modules. As of Technical Preview 4, Vivaldi also supports numerous mouse gestures for actions like tab switching and keyboard activation. Vivaldi can also be set to a "Chromeless UI", which gives users more screen real-estate and the ability to focus on a single page without distractions. To accommodate users who prefer to use a large number of tabs at the same time, Vivaldi supports hibernation for both individual tabs and for tab stacks, freeing resources while the user does not actively use those tabs.

Extensions
Vivaldi can use many browser extensions developed for Google Chrome and Firefox (they both use the WebExtensions API ), and users can install extensions directly from the Chrome Web Store. Most of these work properly in Vivaldi, with the exception of themes specific to Google Chrome due to Vivaldi using an unique backend for rendering the UI compared to the typical render for themes used by most Chromium-based browsers.

Market share
Starting with version 2.10, Vivaldi changed its user agent string to mimic a generic build of Chromium, which results in it not being recorded as a unique browser and causing a decrease in its recorded market share.

Reception
Ars Technica reviewer Scott Gilbertson wrote about version 1.0 in April 2016. He praised its innovative features, such as its tab handling, while noting that it will most likely remain a niche browser and not see widespread uptake. In October 2018, Gilbertson gave version 2.0 a very positive review and stated that Vivaldi is now his usual browser and that he would be hard put to go back to a browser without its unique features.

Ghacks editor-in-chief Martin Brinkmann wrote about the privacy of Vivaldi in January 2018. He criticised the lack of an opt-out option for the unique user ID it generates to get general statistics about the browser's userbase, but commented that the unique ID "is easy enough to delete" and "it is different anyway if you use Vivaldi on multiple devices".

TechRadar's managing editor, Desire Athow, published a review of Vivaldi in August 2021. In the review, Athow praised browser's focus on the productivity, highlighting its advanced tab management features such as tab hibernation, multi-tab management, and split-screen view. However, he also pointed out that Vivaldi's extensive feature set and high degree of customizability can also be overwhelming for a casual user, making it clear that browser is not designed for everyone.

Wired's senior writer, Scott Gilbertson, reviewed version 4.0 of the browser in June 2021. He praised the high number of customization options, suggesting it might be the "Emacs of web browsers" for its personalized user experience. Gilbertson highlighted the browser's unique features, including a built-in email client, RSS feed reader, calendar, and translation tools. Additionally, he recommended Vivaldi to users searching for a more tailored and efficient browsing experience, while also praising its performance.