OSLO, Norway – January 29th 2025, 09:00 CET
As Google, Microsoft, and Apple pour billions into cramming AI assistants into their browsers, on the 29th of January Vivaldi Technologies will release version 7.8 with a radically different thesis: human intelligence, equipped with genuinely powerful tools, beats artificial algorithmic assistants every single time.
The centerpiece is a completely reimagined Tab Tiling system that lets users work with multiple pages simultaneously through intuitive drag-and-drop, instant layouts, and workflows that adapt in real-time. It’s the biggest leap in browser multitasking since tabs were invented, and it required zero machine learning models.
The entire browser industry is solving the wrong problem. They’re building assistants that filter what you see, decide what you don’t see, and ultimately outsource your judgment. We’re building tools that amplify your ability to explore, compare, and think. One approach treats you like a passenger. The other treats you like a pilot.
Jon von Tetzchner, CEO of Vivaldi Technologies.
Big Tech Browsers vs. Vivaldi: A Study in Priorities
While other browsers add AI summarization and Edge pushes Copilot integration, Vivaldi 7.8 ships features users have actually requested:
- Drag-and-Drop Tab Tiling: Create split-screen layouts instantly by dragging tabs into your workspace. Compare prices, monitor live data, reference documentation, all without breaking flow. Whilst Chrome and Edge’s split-screen is locked to two tabs. Vivaldi supports unlimited, flexible grid layouts. You decide how far you take it.
- Open Link in Tiled Tab: Right-click any link to open it beside your current content. Your main tab stays visible. Your context stays intact. It’s multitasking that respects your workspace instead of hijacking it.
- Smarter Pinned Tabs with Domain Restriction: Pinned tabs now enforce domain boundaries, your mail tab stays on mail, your project tool stays on the project. No more accidental navigation breaking your pinned tab setup.
- Cross-Window Mail Access: Vivaldi’s built-in email client now works across all browser windows and workspaces. Mail becomes a true part of the browser, always available without forcing window juggling or context switching.
We spent our engineering time on stability and features users actually requested. Not on AI assistants that hallucinate answers, while training on your private browsing history. Novel idea, apparently.
Jon von Tetzchner.
Control vs. Convenience
The philosophical divide in browser development has never been starker.
Chrome’s latest AI features can summarize articles, Edge can reheat plagiarised images, Safari added AI writing tools. While every major browser is racing to cram AI no one asked for into their products, Vivaldi’s approach is different: give users genuinely powerful tools, then get out of the way. Tab Tiling doesn’t decide what you should see, it gives you the workspace to see everything at once and make your own decisions.
“Browsing should light up your brain, not numb it. When you outsource exploration to an algorithm, you’re not browsing anymore. You’re being browsed.”
Jon adds as final remarks.
Availability
Vivaldi 7.8 will be available on January 29th for Windows, Mac, and Linux at vivaldi.com. The European browser remains completely free, with no tracking, no data selling, and no artificial assistants forced between you and the web to limit your exploration.
For users tired of being treated like beta testers for Big Tech’s AI experiments, it’s the ideal option.