Vivaldi 5.1 arrives for desktop and Android

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A new version of the Vivaldi web browser, Vivaldi 5.1, is now available for all supported desktop operating systems and Android.

The new version of the Chromium-based web browser features several improvements, including support for horizontally scrolling tabs, reading list improvements, a new Quick Settings panel on desktop, and theme and speed improvements on Android.

The new Vivaldi 5.1 is distributed automatically through the integrated update system. Desktop users can select Vivaldi Menu > Help > Check for Updates to speed up the process. Vivaldi’s update functionality should pick up the new version for automatic download and installation.

Vivaldi 5.1 for the desktop

The new desktop version of the browser introduces several new features and improvements. Vivaldi is one of the most customizable browsers out there and the new Quick Settings Panel for the browser’s New Tab page adds just another option to the range of tools and options.

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Rather than having to configure the New Tab page in Settings, Vivaldi users can activate the Quick Settings panel directly from the New Tab page to adjust settings right there.

Options include the following:

Change the background image.
Change the size and maximum columns of tiles.
Show or hide titles.
Show Add and Remove buttons.
Shows or hides the home page navigation bar.
Show or hide the search field.
Shows or hides the Vivaldia Game.

Horizontal scrollable tabs

Most Chromium-based browsers do not support horizontal scrolling of the tab bar. The tabs get smaller and smaller as more are added to the browser, and eventually you end up with tabs that no longer display in the tab bar.

Granted, Google introduced an experimental flag in 2020 that allows tab scrolling.

You need to enable the horizontal scrolling option in Settings > Tabs > Tab Bar. Check the Enable horizontal scrolling option to do so. You can then use the arrow icons or your mouse to scroll through the tab bar. Note that scrolling is only enabled if enough tabs are open.

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You can also long press an arrow icon to display the full list of open tabs in Vivaldi. Horizontal scrolling works perfectly well with the Vivaldi browser’s two-level tab stacking feature.

reading list

The Reading List allows Vivaldi users to save the articles they find. It works similarly to bookmarks at first sight in that it keeps track of pages on the web. Unlike bookmarks, Vivaldi’s Reading List focuses on articles. Tracks reading status and loads them into Reader View, a view optimized for reading articles in the browser.

The reading list is not enabled by default. You need to go to Settings > Address Bar > Reading List to enable the icon. Once this is done, you can activate it when you are on a page with an article to add that article to the list.

Vivaldi 5.1 for Android

The Android version of the Vivaldi web browser has also been updated to version 5.1. Vivaldi users who have many open browser tabs should notice a speed increase after upgrading to the new version.

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There is also a new option to change the minimum tab width in the mobile browser. To do so, visit Settings > Tab. There you will find the minimum tab width setting that you can use to change the default.

Last but not least, Vivaldi 5.1 for Android adds more theme colors. Four preset colors and an option to choose a custom color are now available in Settings > Appearance > Theme > Accent Color.

Now you: Have you tried Vivaldi 5.1? What is your opinion about the new version of the browser?

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