The Vivaldi web browser is already one of the most feature-packed web browsers around, and it keeps getting even better. Several updates this year improved media playback features and added workspaces, on top of the full-featured email client that was added over a year ago. While Vivaldi is making plans for an iPhone version of the browser (it’s already on Android phones and tablets), the company has revealed some performance improvements coming to the desktop browser.
The latest Vivaldi v6.2 web browser update is now available for download and is not a minor update. Multiple extensive under-the-hood tweaks promise to deliver vastly better performance throughout. The company says windows and tabs now open up to 37% faster, especially new tabs, and memory usage has been improved. You’ll notice this speed increases whether you’re opening a tab, using shortcuts, menus, quick commands, and more.
Vivaldi said in a blog post, “By rendering browser windows through React portals, we’ve unlocked new possibilities, reduced memory usage, and significantly improved overall performance.” Basically, the team managed to reduce memory and CPU usage with code refactoring, tweak a few other things, and deliver the best experience yet.
However, that’s not all you can expect from the latest release. Other changes include address field suggestions with customizable categories you can hide, an easy “clear browser data button” in the history panel, more discoverable news feeds, and several improvements to Vivaldi mail. You’ll also notice Geolocation services are back for macOS. Overall, the changelog details a list of six new features, seven bug fixes for critical crashes, and many other changes users can appreciate.
Vivaldi is already an excellent alternative to Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and others. Did you know they even have a dedicated web browser for Android Auto? The team mentioned that this portal change will even allow users to switch Mail tabs between windows, which wasn’t possible before. Then, many other exciting features are coming down the pipeline soon. However, Vivaldi isn’t fully open-source like Mozilla Firefox.
Vivaldi is available as a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, as well as Android phones and tablets.
Source: Vivaldi
