Vivaldi now supports Linux on ARM chips, including Raspberry Pi 3

By Kevin Parrish December 5, 2017

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Vivaldi said on Tuesday, December 5, that it released an optimized version of its web browser for Linux distributions running on devices with ARM-based processors, such as the Raspberry Pi 3, the Raspberry Pi Zero, and the Asus Tinker board. The browser joins Vivaldi’s other builds for Windows, MacOS, and Linux installed on machines with x86-based chips manufactured by Intel and AMD.

“Vivaldi is a web surfer’s complete toolbox that you can personalize and make your own. We strive to add more flexibility for the thriving culture of computer hobbyists and hope that every owner of Raspberry Pi will have fun using Vivaldi,” says Jon von Tetzchner.

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The browser is served up as a DEB file, and requires a superuser account to unpack and install. It’s optimized for small devices relying on single-core ARM-based processors, but users can tweak the browser’s settings to get even better performance. These include the ability to disable animated images, and setting the default viewing mode to filter out everything but text (aka Reader Mode).

Vivaldi users shouldn’t experience a “watered-down” version of the browser on ARM-based devices, though. According to Vivaldi, everything offered in the other versions are completely intact, such as cramming multiple pages under a single tab, capturing screenshots, and using the in-browser note-taking component. We took the Windows 10-based version for a spin earlier this year right here.

Vivaldi is the brainchild of former Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. He parted ways with the company and browser he helped create in 2013 to continue his vision of a solution built for power users. By then, the Opera browser was on a different path than what he originally envisioned, so he set out to pick up where Opera 14 left off with a completely new solution called Vivaldi.

The name stems from Italian Baroque composer and virtuoso violinist Antonio Lucio Vivaldi. Tetzchner wanted web surfers to be “composers,” enabling them to customize the web browsing experience in every way possible. The browser’s palate of editing tools span from customizing the interface colors to rearranging its components to viewing detailed statistics of where the user goes online.

Vivaldi officially hit the scene for Windows, MacOS, and Linux in 2016, and is now finally available for Linux machines running on ARM-based chips. For users running Raspbian, Vivaldi says all that’s needed to install the browser is to double-click on the downloaded installer. Instructions for all other Linux-based distributions will depend on the platform and user permissions.

“Enthusiastic Raspberry Pi users who are looking for a more feature-rich and flexible browser, will find Vivaldi a thrilling experience,” Tetzchner said.

To download Vivaldi for Linux running on ARM-based devices, head to Vivaldi.com.

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