Popular web browser Vivaldi is now rolling out its 7.4 update for Android, iOS, and iPadOS. The new update is most notable for its redesigned tab bar and improved tab-management functionality, though it also introduces background audio playback on iOS, plus some universal privacy and Reader View settings.
A redesigned tab bar, meant to mimic the “Floating Tabs” on desktop, is at the heart of the Vivaldi 7.4 mobile update. Active websites in the tab bar now feature hard outlines and are physically separated from the address bar. While Floating Tabs may seem like a purely stylistic addition to Vivaldi, they make tab-management actions (such as long-pressing a tab) slightly more intuitive, as items in the tab bar are more visually distinct than they were before.
Coincidentally, this update introduces tab pinning and stacking—two tab-management features that are hidden behind a long-press. Pinned tabs will stick to the left-hand side of your tab bar, while stacked tabs behave similar to “grouped” tabs on desktop browsers.
Tab pinning and stacking are limited to iOS, unfortunately. But Android users get something special—a new scrollable list view option for the full-page Tab Switcher.
“Vivaldi 7.4 for iOS is a big step forward in mobile browsing. With advanced tab management, and features that give you more power in fewer taps, this update brings clarity, control, and a whole lot of convenience. This update makes browsing on your iPhone or iPad feel a whole lot better, It’s everything you’d expect from Vivaldi.”
Along with its new tab-management functionality, Vivaldi 7.4 for iOS adds a super-useful “allow media playback in background” feature. It’s not a PiP mode, but it lets you play music from YouTube and other services while your phone is locked. You can enable background media playback from the the browser’s “General” settings, though I also suggest that you go into the “Privacy and Security” settings to enable “Don’t open links in external apps.” Otherwise, the YouTube website will try to kick you over to the YouTube app.
To be clear, YouTube already supports background playback on iOS, but only as a Premium feature. YouTube may take steps to block this feature from working on its website in order to protect the value of its Premium subscription package.
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This update also introduces the ability to toggle “Search History” and “Typed History.” Disabling these options will have no impact on your browser history; they simply change the behavior of your address bar. Turning off the Typed History setting prevents Vivaldi’s search suggestion algorithm from being influenced by past searches. And if you don’t want to see previous searches in the address bar, disable Search History. You can find both of these options in the Vivaldi browser settings under the “Address Bar” submenu.
Vivaldi 7.4 is available today at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. A new Vivaldi desktop update, which introduces improved keyboard keyboard shortcuts, is also available.
Source: Vivaldi
