Vivaldi 5.2 launches for the desktop and Android

Vivaldi Technologies released new versions of the company's Vivaldi web browser on April 6, 2022. Vivaldi 5.2 for desktop systems introduces support for tracker and ad-blocking statistics and a Reading List panel, the Android version gets the Reading List feature and a new Translation panel.

The releases come exactly six years after the first Vivaldi release.

Vivaldi 5.2 for the desktop

The desktop version of Vivaldi 5.2 is available for Windows, Mac OS and Linux. The update is already available at the time of writing and most systems should receive the update automatically.

Vivaldi users may open Vivaldi Menu > Help > About to display the installed version and run a check for updates. The update should be picked up and installed.

Reading List Panel

The new Reading List Panel improves the accessibility of the feature. Reading List, which was introduced in the browser's address bar, gives Vivaldi users a tool at hand to save articles for later reading. It works similarly to bookmarks, but is more powerful thanks to the added functionality.

Tip: if the reading list button is not displayed, open the Preferences, search for reading, and check the "show reading list button".

Articles and webpages can be added to the Reading List using the button. The new Reading List Panel is added to Vivaldi's panel sidebar that is giving users quick and comfortable access to bookmarks, the mail client, downloads and other areas of the browser.

The new panel displays all articles and webpages that you have added to the browser's built-in Reading List. It features a search to find articles quickly, options to change the sort order -- by read state, address, title or date updated -- and a direct option to add the current page to the reading list database. Each article can be marked as read with a single click on the checkmark button next to it. A double-click on an item in the list loads the article or webpage in the active tab.

Right-click actions are also available, including actions to copy the address, open the item in a new tab or mark the page as read. Users who prefer keyboard shortcuts may assign a shortcut to the feature to speed up the process further.

The new Reading List Panel improves the browser's Reading List feature significantly as it improves accessibility and management of the list.

The introduction of the Reading List feature in Vivaldi 5.2 for Android enables syncing of the list between Vivaldi on Android and on desktop systems.

Privacy Statistics

Vivaldi's New Tab page displays privacy statistics at the very top in version 5.2 of the browser. It displays the total number of ads and trackers that the browser blocked. A click on more information displays additional information, including a full list of all websites and trackers.

The new feature complements the ability to display all blocked ads and trackers of the active site by clicking on the shield icon in the browser's address bar.

Other changes in Vivaldi 5.2:

• The search engine Qwant is available again as a default in Vivaldi. To switch to it, select Vivaldi Menu > Settings > Search.
• Tab dragging should be faster and smoother in the new release.
• Improvements to the Mail, Calendar and Feed Reader (not mentioned specifically in the release notes).

Vivaldi 5.2 for Android

Vivaldi 5.2 for Android includes support for the company's Reading List feature. Already available in desktop versions, Reading List gives Android users the option to add any webpage to the list for reference and later access.

The introduction of the feature enables Reading List syncing between mobile and desktop versions of the Vivaldi web browser.

To add an article to the Reading List on Android, tap on the Vivaldi menu icon and select Reading List. There you may then select "Add Current Page" to add it. You will also see all synced and previous articles that you added there.

New Translation Panel

The new Translation Panel extends Vivaldi's privacy-friendly translation functionality. The latest iteration of the translate feature enables the translation of selected text. The ability to see the original and the translated text is provided, and it is easy to change source and target languages.

The new auto-translate option translates text snippets immediately without the new for extra taps or actions on your part.

The Android version is rolled out via Google Play.

Closing Words

Vivaldi Technologies continues to improve the browser with meaningful feature improvements.

Vivaldi 5.2 launches for the desktop and Android

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