Summary
- Vivaldi 7.7 on Android adds fully custom search engines from any site’s search field.
- Import and export bookmarks on-device for backups or moving from Chrome without desktop pairing.
- iPhone version gets 7.7, but most features, like custom engines/bookmark export, won’t be available.
Vivaldi is probably one of the third-party browsers I like the most—though I’ve stuck with Chrome on both my phone and computer, if I were to choose something to switch, I’d switch to Vivaldi. And it just got a lot better with the addition of a new feature on Android.
Vivaldi has just announced Vivaldi 7.7 on mobile devices. And it’s pretty cool. The headline feature for Vivaldi 7.7 on Android is the introduction of fully custom search engines. You can currently choose from a hardcoded list of search providers—limited to major players like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Ecosia. Vivaldi 7.7 removes this restriction, allowing users to manually add virtually any search query string as a default or alternative engine. This feature is designed to integrate specialised workflows directly into the browser’s address bar. Rather than navigating to a specific URL and then searching, users can now query specific databases directly. All you need to do is navigate to the target website (e.g., a specific wiki, a library catalog, or an internal company portal, perform a long-press gesture on the site’s search field, and select the “Add as Search Engine” option from the prompt.
The update now allows for comprehensive import and export functionality for bookmarks as well. Historically, moving browser data on mobile devices has been restrictive, relying on cloud sync mechanisms that require desktop pairing. The new update allows for direct data manipulation on the device itself. Those migrating from other browsers, such as Google Chrome, can now import their existing bookmark libraries directly into Vivaldi. And similarly, the update also enables the export of bookmarks. This feature serves two primary purposes: it acts as a backup mechanism for users who wish to secure their data locally, and it also allows them to move their data to a different service or browser if they choose to do so in the future.
Vivaldi 7.7 is coming to iPhones, but it won’t have most of these features, and it will mainly serve as just a maintenance update with bug fixes. The Vivaldi 7.7 update is rolling out now, so check it out when you get a chance, especially if you’re on Android.
Source: Vivaldi
