Vivaldi Technologies has released a new feature update for its browser. Version 6.1 is now available , and it brings a few improvements, alongside a rather unexpected Bing Chat support. So far, Microsoft"s AI-powered search service has been available only in Microsoft Edge, but now Vivaldi users can access Bing Chat too. (Opera has ChatGPT)
According to developers, making Bing Chat exclusive to Edge is "User-Agent discrimination," when perfectly compatible websites are blocked in Vivaldi due to the incorrect User-Agent string. Now Chromium is on track to replace User-Agent with the new Client Hints standard, resulting in Vivaldi being again blocked by some services.
Still, the hope is not lost. Vivaldi 6.1 can mimic Google Chrome for improved driver optimizations, reduced memory consumption, better stability, and fewer crashes. Besides, the technique allows Vivaldi users access to browser-restricted services, such as Bing Chat.
It’s not only websites that discriminate based on your name. Vivaldi now masquerades as Google Chrome for graphic card drivers, which unlocks graphic card driver optimizations made specifically for Chrome. By pretending to be Chrome, the GPU user uses less memory and resources. It improves battery life, reduces crashes, and improves system stability.
There are people who would like to try Bing Chat but have been unable to do so as they would need to use Microsoft Edge for that. Now, we have taken additional steps to ensure that you get to use Bing Chat. Vivaldi masquerades as Microsoft Edge when visiting Bing. This means that you can access Bing Chat using Vivaldi.
Another change in Vivaldi 6.1 is improvements for the recently introduced Workspaces feature. Users can now rearrange workspaces according to their needs and preferences. Also, the browser lets you select a few tabs and copy their links.
Finally, Vivaldi 6.1 features a revamped onboarding experience with a better guide to show new users some of the browser"s core features and unique capabilities.
You can download Vivaldi 6.1 from the official website. The browser is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. A version for iOS is also in the works, but it is currently in the private beta stage. Full release notes for Vivaldi 6.1 are available on the official Vivaldi blog.