Vivaldi for iOS
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@shrinra It's been a long time, and I was never an Apple user (at least not since the Apple 2C we used for our business early on and the Mac desktop I used at work (some) from about '86 to "88). I remember discussions of an Opera browser for iPhone in 2007, but I don't recall there being a Apple version when I first adopted the browser in 1999 - though I do recall a big Mac compatibility kerfuffle in about 2003 or so, but maybe that was just because of the introduction of the Presto engine.
Ennyway, I know they already had a big team (much bigger than Vivaldi does now) and spent years getting an app into the Apple Store. I would actually be surprised if Vivaldi doesn't have an iOS version in some years - but not yet.
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@Ayespy I don't understand how the apple restrictions work, I am no developer, but from my understanding webkit is like a engine, so you can't use your own engine, or port another one. Sure this significantly can limit you, but you still can control UI. Chrome for IOS is still better than safari. All we need is a simple browser with SYNC. You could even have vivaldi set up to sync with chrome or something.
Later on you guys could add all the other stuff that Chrome and Firefox for IOS have added.
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Reading this thread is a little disheartening. I love Vivaldi but I have an iPhone and would really like an app where I could use the calendar. I was thinking of getting a new phone anyway, so I'm probably going to get an Android.
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That whole topic was about how there turns out to be a mobile browser for Android and Linux phones (is that even a thing?), but I think a lot of people (including me) would like an iOS version as well. iPhones own a big part of the smartphone market share, so publishing Vivaldi to the App Store would probably increase Vivaldi's popularity.
idk, just an idea... -
@alternative The iPhone market share is dropping and it's likely it will fall to mac levels in the long run (~8%). But that would be no reason to ignore it. The problem is that iOS is a locked down operating system which only allows its own browser to run on it. All third party browsers have to use the Safari engine and are therefore only clones. Vivaldi is a chromium browser…
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@luetage I keep seeing similar points like this being made as to why Vivaldi for iOS is a much longer way off from happening.
I do not know if this could be the case, but couldn't the Vivaldi team build off the chromium version for iOS to make a version of Vivaldi run on iOS? I mean, as you said, Vivaldi is already chromium based.
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@altcode There is no chromium browser for iOS – it's webkit with some user interface wrapper slapped on top of it. The next big problem is that Apple provides APIs to enable developers to do this, but they are lazy with releasing them, therefore Safari always maintains an "unfair" advantage on iOS. It just isn't a healthy environment to release a browser and Apple doesn't really want it in the first place.
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@luetage I don't get what you mean there. Here is the code that is provided by the chromium project to build Chromium for iOS.
WebKit on the other hand is a browser engine, just like Blink, and as far as I've understood, the chromium version of iOS simply has to use WebKit instead of Blink because Apple doesn't allow any other browser engine in iOS.
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@altcode Yeah, but what do you think Vivaldi is using from the chromium project to make the Vivaldi browser we are enjoying? Blink. The UI is Vivaldi's doing. It's confusing because they call it all chromium, but there is a not so subtle difference here.
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Anyway, of course Vivaldi can make an iOS browser. It's possible and it's certain they have already looked into it. No idea if they will do it, but it's far in the future. I fear it's likely you will switch your smartphone 2 or 3 times before this has any chance of happening. I hope Android is happening before 2020…
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@luetage said in Mobile Vivaldi for iOS:
It's confusing because they call it all chromium, but there is a not so subtle difference here.
So whenever the Vivaldi team is refer to the browser being chromium-based, they are mostly referring to Blink itself?
The UI is Vivaldi's doing.
Are you saying that Vivaldi's UI is only possible because the chromium base of the browser utilizes blink, so porting to iOS would be difficult because even if they used the iOS version of chromium as a base, it does not utilize blink?
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@altcode Vivaldi's UI on the desktop is based on web technologies (html, js, css), this cannot be moved to mobile afaik. iOS apps are programmed in swift and android apps in java.
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@altcode large parts of browser infrastructure (session context, local storage, site features, cache, keyboard/mouse input) are reused as well.
Sometimes causing problems with special user input (gestures/shortcuts) and limits to features (private tab). -
I think the answer is that it will not happen.
@Ayespy said in Vivaldi for IOS/Android.:
You can't make a browser for IOS period, unless you build it on Apple's version of WebKit - which would mean starting over altogether. The Android version has been started. But never say never. It only took Opera something like 9 years to build a browser that Apple would accept into the Apple Store.
If someone from the Vivaldi Team thinks it could happen one day, no doubt they will remove the "Will not do" tag, but I would not like anyone to have their hopes raised.
Never say "never," but I think for now, one should assume that it will never happen.
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@Ayespy said in Vivaldi for IOS/Android.:
It only took Opera something like 9 years to build a browser that Apple would accept into the Apple Store.
A few things that I find wrong with that statement:
- The iPhone/iOS was not unveiled until 2007.
- The iOS app store was not launched until 2008, so third party apps were not possible before hand.
- Opera released a browser for iOS in 2010, so in truth, it only took Opera 2 years to build and release a browser for iOS once they were able to.
@pesala said in Mobile Vivaldi for iOS:
If someone from the Vivaldi Team thinks it could happen one day, no doubt they will remove the "Will not do" tag, but I would not like anyone to have their hopes raised.
Never say "never," but I think for now, one should assume that it will never happen.They have said countless times on Twitter that iOS is not a priority, it is a long-term project, and that it is more tricky. Notice how they've never that it will never happen.
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@altcode said in Mobile Vivaldi for iOS:
Opera released a browser for iOS in 2010, so in truth, it only took Opera 2 years to build and release a browser for iOS once they were able to.
You are assuming that they did not even start building it until the iOS app store opened. That is like saying they did not start working on Vivaldi Mobile until they opened this feature request category for Mobile.
On Wikipedia it says:
A project to port Opera to mobile device platforms was started in 1998. Opera 4.0, released in 2000, included a new cross-platform core that facilitated creation of editions of Opera for multiple operating systems and platforms.
I removed the tag in the light of the comments on Twitter.
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@pesala said in Mobile Vivaldi for iOS:
You are assuming that they did not even start building it until the iOS app store opened.
I am. After all, no one other than Apple could develop an app for iOS before 2008; there was no tools to do so, let alone a platform to release and install apps in iOS.
Furthermore, I found an old interview with Jon on Tetzchner from the NYTimes that states that Opera started development as far as 2008, but stopped due to old restrictions on iOS: https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/why-you-will-not-see-opera-on-your-iphone/
On the article it says:
He replied that in fact some Opera engineers had started developing an iPhone version, but the company didn’t pursue it because Apple doesn’t allow products on the iPhone that compete with its own software — in this case, the Safari browser.
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I do not use an iphone but do have a first gen iPod and and an iPad2.
Only Opera that works on them is OperaMini. They were working on something new but it came out (I couldn't get it) then fizzled away into the ether.
Whether or not Vivaldi wants to get into that environment is another question.
As for Android, they have repeatedly said one will be developed. -
@pesala said in Mobile Vivaldi for iOS:
I think the answer is that it will not happen.
Oh man
Well, thanks for all the answers on this thread everyone, having Vivaldi on iOS seems like something complicated, as they will have to redo everything, because Chromium is not available in the App Store. I realize this now, and I want to thank everyone for telling their thoughts. For now (And the next 10-20 years), I will have to use Opera Mini. -
Hey,
With more and more companies developing full-scale versions of their native desktop app for iPad (Ex: Photoshop), I would love to see Vivaldi do the same.
If you agree with me that the time is right, upvote this post to show the developers that this is something that we want.