Vivaldi’s new auto-hide browser UI, examined: So contemporary, so clear

With Vivaldi 7.9, the Scandinavian browser firm makes a great level: Do you actually need to see all of a browser’s visible cruft, on a regular basis?

Vivaldi is launching UI auto-hide, a brand new function that’s out there inside the free internet browser in an improve that’s out there at this time. It principally takes all of the stuff you don’t at all times want to have a look at it, just like the deal with bar, bookmarks, and aspect panel, and auto-hides it. It does to the browser what a Home windows choice does for the taskbar on the backside of your display screen, optionally hiding it if chosen.

You’ll should enter the Vivaldi Settings menu, then navigate to the Look tab. You’ll then have the choice of turning off principally all the things, or particular parts: the tab bar, the panel, the deal with bar, the standing bar, and bookmarks. You may also set this habits to default when opening a window in full display screen mode.

That doesn’t imply that the UI is gone completely. It’s merely hidden, so for those who slide your mouse to the sting of the display screen, all the things pops again up once more. I’ve tried the replace, and the idea of hiding my browser tabs is just a little disconcerting, so I feel I’m going to go away these in. I’m torn on whether or not I ought to cover the URL bar, which additionally doubles as a search field in most browsers.

Vivaldi’s new function takes this to an excessive, although you’ve been capable of cover the bookmarks/Favorites factor in Edge for years now. In 2023, the Arc browser additionally introduced Boosts, which allowed you to manually take away parts from a web site, such because the factor that reveals YouTube Shorts on YouTube. You’ll in all probability should take a while getting used to the brand new options, however it’s simply one of many good function additions Vivaldi has added to its newest iteration of its browser.

The opposite function I’m going to should play with is Follower Tabs, that are simply one other twist on an issue that Vivaldi and different browser makers preserve wrestling with: You have got a single tab, and then you definately click on a hyperlink on it. You then click on one other, and one other. Immediately you’ve a row of tabs with no rhyme or motive, and you’ll’t comply with the trail again dwelling to the unique web page.

If you right-click a hyperlink inside Vivaldi 7.9, you’ve the choice of opening a “tiled follower tab,” which opens the web page in a tile to the precise of your present tab. It additionally drops down the tab and any followers right into a second row of tabs on the high of your display screen.

I’m rather less impressed with this function, solely as a result of it doesn’t really feel totally baked. Opening a tab, then a follower tab, is sensible. However after I opened a 3rd tab, I anticipated it to seem in a group of tiles, or simply perhaps a row of tiled home windows with a slider bar on the backside. Until I used the function incorrectly, that didn’t occur. I do like the best way through which the origin tab and any followers seem within the further row of tab bars. Nevertheless, that’s one other good motive to go away these tab bars seen, and never hidden through the UI auto-hide function.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

Lastly, Vivaldi 7.9 now can deal with the Mail composer as its personal window. Once more, that’s a helpful little tweak.

Vivaldi has received followers at PCWorld; I take advantage of a dual-browser setup with Vivaldi and Edge, particularly for Vivaldi’s built-in RSS feed reader but additionally for different causes. Nevertheless, that doesn’t imply that Vivaldi lacks its critics, too. Possibly it could actually work on a greater sync expertise, subsequent?