Read this article in 日本語.
Since the beginning, I have been fuelled by two motivations — my passion for bringing about a positive impact with the products that we create and my desire for a unique approach to users with a bespoke and personal touch.
Vivaldi, certainly, reflects that! What we have achieved together as a team is something that we’re all proud of. In the ever-changing and heavily contested industry, we have thrived against many odds.
While we’re excited about what the future holds and welcome 2024, let’s look back at the remarkable year we experienced in 2023.
Power and conviction
The year’s biggest highlight is Vivaldi on iOS. And we could not be much happier about it. Even though the wait was long, we are extremely proud of what we have built. We promise it is only going to get better.
At our core, we believe it’s important to consider different workflows when designing features. As a result, we shipped new capabilities across platforms. Let’s focus on some of the stars on desktop.
The Window Panel expanded to Windows Panel so that you can manage multiple tabs across windows. The all-new Custom Icons in Themes gave you the power to personalize the interface like never before. Workspaces quickly turned into a favorite and even automated!
The monumental Portal work unlocked new possibilities, reduced memory usage, and significantly improved overall performance.
We brought in new ways to work with, for example, copy and share links from Tabs and Tab Stacks in an instant, the new Address Field Suggestions prioritizing the order of the drop-down as per your needs.
The powerful Sessions Panel in the sidebar was recently launched for you to view, reopen, and even edit your saved Sessions. Plus, you can find open Synced Tabs in the Address Field and Windows Panel of your current device.
Our built-in Mail, Calendar, and the Feed Reader are unique, even more so now. Mail filters got new options, the Feed Reader got more discoverable, and Calendar got new templates to manage your schedules better.
We also elevated our end-to-end encrypted Sync which makes your complete browsing history available on all your devices, including cars.
Our browser on Android continues to adapt to your needs. We made Vivaldi faster on browser start-up, even with thousands of open tabs. Features like Bookmarks, Tracker and Ad Blocker were improved, and new audio/video options were added for you to play audio when Vivaldi runs in the background.
The automotive wave
One thing was missing for a long time in the auto world, and that was a fully functional web browser for you to use while your car is parked. We filled the gap in December 2021, becoming the first (and so far only) browser to make itself available for cars that run Android Automotive.
And this year, there’s been plenty of good news! I count myself very fortunate to have a very talented and passionate team. We announced agreements with the Volkswagen Group and Mercedes Benz, followed up with Renault, and are available in their recently launched vehicles.
We also have a presence on the Google Play Store. Thus, showing up in Volvo cars too! A fun fact: in Sweden, more than 1 out of a 1000 cars have Vivaldi installed. We are confident that this number will only increase.
Action and celebration
While we gave you Vivaldia 2 – our ode to the classic arcade game in its second version, we also celebrated our first successful year of Vivaldi Social, our Mastodon instance. Basically, we want you to have a good time online.
This year was travel-packed. We kickstarted the year with CES in Las Vegas (BTW, we are there next year too!), followed by the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. Some of the conferences –Tech.eu in Brussels and Web Summit in Lisbon – have been very impressive. It is always fun to talk about Vivaldi and also interesting to observe that people do care a lot about the products that they use.
The trip to Japan was a special one. Japan always sets the bar high. Every time we have a user meet-up in Tokyo, people come from far and wide and talk about Vivaldi. Their passion and enthusiasm is unmatched.
The magic of people
We’re for diversity and inclusion in all aspects of society; whether it’s people or software. We believe you should be free to use whatever software or services you want. We’d love it if you chose our products and services, of course!
Our team is now stronger with 54 smart individuals from 22 nationalities. At Vivaldi, everyone is responsible for creating an open, safe, and inclusive environment to enable this.
We leverage diversity to drive performance, listen to everyone’s ideas and perspectives, challenge group thinking, and encourage creativity. Our annual sessions in Magnolia, United States, and Reykjavik, Iceland help us bond together.
Forging deeper connections
Deep down, we all want to feel that we’re part of something solid with a degree of reliability and permanence. Our Vivaldi Community is a befitting example.
For me, the full team includes all of you. You have shown faith in us time and time again, pushed us to excel, and as a result, our vivaldi.net community is now 1.5 million strong. Our brilliant Sopranos, translators, and volunteers do not stop to amaze us. This year we learned that we have an ambassador in every continent – over 120 Vivaldi Ambassadors from 39 countries.
I am grateful for the dedication to each one of you! As long as you believe in what we do and stand by us, we will reach even greater heights.
2024: Plenty of updates, loads of cars and the DMA
We aim to provide you with a lot of new features in Vivaldi across devices. We will see improvements in Vivaldi on Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as Android and iOS.
We also expect to see Vivaldi in more cars. A number of announcements have been made but most of those cars have not been shipped yet.
The road ahead is to continue the fight for a better internet. There naturally remains much uncertainty in the wider world whether it is the environment, geopolitical issues, or technology. However, from my vantage point, 2024 is going to be a launchpad for all kinds of change but with regulation.
We are excited about the the European Digital Markets Act (DMA) and what it has to offer. Already, we have seen regulation give us USB ports in iPhones, but there is a lot more anticipated such as:
- Ability to uninstall Edge browser on Windows. It has taken more than 25 years, but finally it will be possible to do.
- Easier installation and setting of default browser, without FUD.
- Choice screens on most all devices.
- Our own browser core on iOS, instead of Webkit.
There is a lot more to the DMA, and it has the potential to make a significant difference on the Internet.
We are also excited about further progress of the Fediverse. We are proud to be the first browser company to have a Mastodon instance, but this is just the beginning, not only for us, but for the Fediverse as a whole.
Here’s to new beginnings!
As we count down to the new year, I wish you, your families, and friends a wonderful holiday season. Let’s step into 2024 with renewed energy and enthusiasm for the opportunities that await us.
Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!
And here’s a quick recap of the year that has gone by:
