Mobile Browser Version
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if vivaldi used some more opened platform for sync (dropbox, googledrive, onedrive, etc. as it has been suggested somewhere here earlier IIRC) instead of a proprietary solution there would be no need for a mobile browser. my only criteria for choosing my mobile browser is the ability to sync with my desktop browser.
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@molnart said in Mobile Browser Version:
if vivaldi used some more opened platform for sync (dropbox, googledrive, onedrive, etc. as it has been suggested somewhere here earlier IIRC) instead of a proprietary solution
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@Ayespy said in Mobile Browser Version:
@hadden89 Exactly. There is no longer a Windows Mobile platform, and iOS forbids Vivaldi, so for the time being, "mobile" means "Android." Any Linux-based mobile device can probably already run Vivaldi (Jon has Vivaldi on a Linux mobile at present) but these are precious few.
Major browsers currently have iOS versions powered by WebKit. Actually it's not big deal what engine is inside the mobile browser. Because currently all blink, mozilla and webkit are pretty good. User experience, customizability and sync with desktop browsers is what makes a difference
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@alexander-gorbovets
Team is small, and they should mantain two mobile versions: one on webkit - just for ios - and other on blink for arm devices and androids.
Vivaldi is also a separate patched chromium-blink branch - not a vanilla fork - and may need a big rewrite to work the same on a ios-webkit.
I guess is not impossible to see an iOS version, but it'll require more time. -
@alexander-gorbovets said in Mobile Browser Version:
Major browsers currently have iOS versions powered by WebKit. Actually it's not big deal what engine is inside the mobile browser.
Major browsers have hundreds of developers. When you've only got about 20 people to write the thing from the ground up, it's a big deal to develop two browsers with two different engines. As you say, it's the user experience that counts, and that has to be written for the particular engine. It can't simply be applied like paint. Vivaldi will need more resources before they attempt such an undertaking.
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Maybe I am odd because I sincerely hope there will never be a mobile version of Vivaldi browser. Why? Because I know Vivaldi team is small and if they dilute their powers between two browser versions then the desktop browser will receive less care. Vivaldi is about giving full power to users and this is possible only on full power computers - desktops and laptops. I wouldn't mind mobile Vivaldi if it didn't have any impact on the development of the desktop version but I know this is not realistic.
I think at best there could be an extension developed for the most popular mobile browsers allowing to sync bookmarks, passwords, etc. with the desktop Vivaldi.
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@lemonjuice The old Opera team, founded by the same guy who founded Vivaldi, obtained most of its usership and therefore most of its income (and its resulting ability to expand to over 200 programming engineers) on mobile platforms. Mobile usage is much more widespread in the world today than desktop usage.
While it's true that Vivaldi will never abandon or de-emphasize desktop, they would have to be insane to ignore mobile.
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@Ayespy said in Mobile Browser Version:
Mobile usage is much more widespread in the world today than desktop usage.
While it's true that Vivaldi will never abandon or de-emphasize desktop, they would have to be insane to ignore mobile.
I don't see anything insane in ignoring mobile if the team is small. The mobile world already has many browsers to choose from - what could Vivaldi possibly offer to its users on mobile? Most of its unique options are not important nor even applicable on a mobile phone: themes, tab options, mouse gestures, side panels, UI customizations, etc. Spending lots of man hours to develop a browser that is only very slightly better than its competition doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Vivaldi had (or still has?) plans to develop a desktop mail client, which I think is a much better plan, because the landscape of good mail clients is shrinking more and more. This is where Vivaldi could offer something unique - this is a niche waiting to be filled as opposed to the saturated market of mobile browsers.
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@lemonjuice said in Mobile Browser Version:
I don't see anything insane in ignoring mobile if the team is small.
The insane part about it is that it prevents future growth - keeping the team always small and therefore limited in capabilities.
what could Vivaldi possibly offer to its users on mobile?
The same kinds of things the old Presto Opera Mobile offered before the new Opera Mobile became an ad platform. In other words, a more desktop-like and less limited/crippled/cramped experience. So far, no one else is getting an expanded experience right. It will also be the ONLY browser that can sync with Vivaldi desktop. Thousands of users are already craving this.
Most of its unique options are not important nor even applicable on a mobile phone: themes, tab options, mouse gestures, side panels, UI customizations, etc. Spending lots of man hours to develop a browser that is only very slightly better than its competition doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
The original Opera mobile (and therefore conceivably Vivaldi Mobile) was not only slightly better. It was miles ahead.
Vivaldi had (or still has?) plans to develop a desktop mail client, which I think is a much better plan, because the landscape of good mail clients is shrinking more and more. This is where Vivaldi could offer something unique - this is a niche waiting to be filled as opposed to the saturated market of mobile browsers.
Vivaldi has a desktop mail client. It will be released to the public when it's ready. The mobile team and the mail team do not intersect, and do not draw resources from each other. It's not one of the other.
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Maybe you're right. I've been too concerned that the desktop browser might be hindered by the development of the mobile version. I know sync is important to many users and I am aware that all current mobile browsers have some serious deficiencies - they are only good enough for most users.
Glad to hear the mail client hasn't been abandoned.
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Oh no, is it true that there won't be an iOS version?
Why do I want a mobile version? Because I want to sync various data, especially the auto-generated passwords.
I've found Vivaldi's auto password generator excellent. I want to start to use it extensively if/when Vivaldi has a mobile version. (If the auto generated passwords aren't available on my smartphone, that'd be a big, big problem.)
But then, that would mean I would have to preclude iPhones and iPads from my future choices. . . .
. . . so, it seems that I will have to commit to 1Password or something similar.
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@ryofurue There is likely to be an iOS version . . . in time.
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So what about low-end solution just to make Sync available on mobile? Bare-bone browser + tabs + Sync. No colors, just a little settings nothing fancy. Something like DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser, not really perfect but does work.
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@jrucki said in Mobile Browser Version:
So what about low-end solution just to make Sync available on mobile? Bare-bone browser + tabs + Sync. No colors, just a little settings nothing fancy. Something like DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser, not really perfect but does work.
Perfect. It's what I thought recently. Maybe add also scrollable tabs like tablet browsers do (personally I hate to tap some button to switch to another tab). And except it nothing more needed.
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Hello. I also am willing to do alpha/beta testing (Android). Is there an appropriate place to let the devs know?
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If current patterns are adhered to, pre-alpha and alpha testing will be internal, using the present team of testers. If more internal testers are wanted, that will be made known. Beta testing, as now, will be open to anyone willing to put an app with no quality assurances on their Android phone.
Volunteer Mod and tester on Windows 11 Home X64, i7-13700 @ 5.4 GHz turbo; Intel UHD 770 graphics; 1TB NV2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD; 32 GB DDR4-3200 RAM. Community Code of Conduct
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@Ayespy said in Mobile Browser Version:
If current patterns are adhered to, pre-alpha and alpha testing will be internal, using the present team of testers. If more internal testers are wanted, that will be made known. Beta testing, as now, will be open to anyone willing to put an app with no quality assurances on their Android phone.
does is mean that we are not even at pre-alpha yet?
MacOS - waiting for iOS
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@TalGarik That's right. It is being tested only by the Team and Jon. Internal testers do not have access yet. Still, it is being actively developed.
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@TalGarik It means it will take forever. We had 3 big feature promises practically from the start: Sync, Mail and Mobile. Only Sync is out after 4 years, and Sync is incomplete. That's just to put it in context. Nothing can be done about that, the manpower just isn't there. But I do worry, features are added regularly and these features break with chromium updates – at some point in time simply maintaining the status quo of Vivaldi could take up all development time. The only thing that would help are more users, which would pay more developers. But you only get more users with basics like Sync and a mobile browser already existing… It's a vicious circle. At the same time we are completely left in the dark about number of active Vivaldi users and estimation of arrival of critical features (active development and improving every day doesn't cut it for anyone, especially when you read the same thing for years).
Well, there's nothing to do but wait and hope for the best. What keeps me with Vivaldi personally is the pretty UI and the openness concerning custom modifications.
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@jrucki said in Mobile Browser Version:
So what about low-end solution just to make Sync available on mobile? Bare-bone browser + tabs + Sync. No colors, just a little settings nothing fancy. Something like DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser, not really perfect but does work.
Doesn't look like it would happen anytime soon, but would love if it did. I'm currently on Firefox 52 ESR as mozilla is doing everything do discourage me from updating and mobile sync is the only thing keeping me from switching to Vivaldi.
