Vivaldi 5.0 adds multiple tab rows and side panels to Android version

Vivaldi is one of the best web browsers around in terms of features. Although it doesn’t offer its own rendering engine (it’s another Chromium fork), the browser has implemented many design improvements over other browsers, such as multiple rows of tabs, a note-taking tool, and other handy features. Vivaldi 5.0 is now rolling out on Android, and there are some great changes for phones, tablets, and Chromebooks.

Vivaldi 5.0 on Android updates the browser’s tab bar to support smaller tabs (by hiding the close button), and you now have the option for two stacks of tabs, same as on the desktop browser. This is most useful on tablets, Chromebooks, and other Android devices with large screens, but you can use stacked tabs on regular smartphones as well. The tab bar (along with the toolbar/address bar) can also be moved to the top or bottom of the screen, just like Samsung Internet and Firefox.

There are also new improvements in store for tablets and Chromebooks with Vivaldi installed. Side panels are now available, which appear on the left side of the browser and can display history, downloads, bookmarks, and notes. The panel can be turned on or off whenever you want. Vivaldi wrote in its blog post, “one thing that puts Vivaldi ahead of other Android browsers is its first-of-its-kind unique UI. And now we elevate it with a brand-new, super flexible design for you.”

Vivaldi 5.0 includes other new features, such as a page-specific dark mode toggle and an ‘Append to Note’ option that appears when selecting text. The update is rolling out now on the Google Play Store, alongside the release of desktop Vivaldi 5.0, which adds shareable themes and a built-in Translate Panel.

This seems like an impressive update for Vivaldi, but other mobile web browsers aren’t staying still. Mozilla rolled out a new homepage to its Firefox iOS and Android browsers last month, and Google started testing all-new widgets for Chrome on Android in October.

Vivaldi Browser (Free, Google Play) →

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