Vivaldi released its latest version 1.5 on November 22 accelerating its pace to create a user-centric web browser. Vivaldi now gives you a unique ability — a first for browsers — to control the colour of smart-home lighting through the browser itself.
Additionally, this release offers a lot of improvements over previous versions, including being able to drag tabs, tab stacks and tab selections between windows. Significant highlights also include delta updates, reader mode button and automatic screenshots in notes.
Vivaldi’s light bulb moment
Vivaldi treads an adventurous route, going beyond the browser and into the smart home by integrating with Hue colour lights from Philips. After enabling Hue in Vivaldi Theme settings, a tap on the Philips Hue Bridge confirms the connection. Selecting which lights Vivaldi should control, the browser will synchronize your physical surroundings with the colour of the web.
With this light bulb moment, Vivaldi opens the door for new opportunities for seamless integration between the browser and physical space. “This is just a first step for us but imagine a world where you get notified for a new email or web notification through a light bulb," explains CEO Jon von Tetzchner. "Vivaldi is all about customisation and flexibility. Integrating with IoT devices like Philips Hue makes it possible for Vivaldi to adapt to you and your everyday life," Tetzchner added.
