TECH

Vilvaldi launches browser for Android Automotive system

The Android Automotive operating system is still available in a very small number of vehicles and the range of apps for it is still small. However, these apps now include a web browser, and this is not Chrome but Vivaldi, which is now available for Polestar 2 electric vehicles.

According to the developer, security issues were a priority in browser development. The app can only be used when the car is in parking mode. If the user opens the streaming audio or video in the browser, when the car starts to move, only the sound will remain and the image will be turned off. Confidentiality was also an important point for the developers: private tabs are available, which allow you not to save data when viewing the pages. Synchronization via the Vivaldi account is also available – the developer insists Polestar will not have access to account data.

The Android Automotive version of Vivaldi is based on a mobile browser, so a number of features are also missing from the desktop version: no batch tab grouping, file downloading, and QR code scanning. For the rest, notes the developer, there aren't as many differences from the mobile browser and there will be regular updates in the future.

Image source: vivaldi.com