Vivaldi on Android will now let users play YouTube videos in the background

The browser named after a historical composer — Vivaldi — is getting a new update on Android. This latest version of Vivaldi will bring a number of changes to the browser, including the ability to play YouTube in the background.

Today, Vivaldi announced it is pushing out its Vivaldi on Android 5.7 update. The update packs a few interesting details that we’ll break down for you here.

Keep audio playing while Vivaldi’s in the background

First up, the update will make it possible to keep media going in the background, even when you’re exploring other apps. For example, if you’re playing a YouTube video in the browser and choose to minimize it, you’ll continue to hear the audio as the video plays behind the scenes. This isn’t for just YouTube either; it works for audio and video from any site you visit.

This feature won’t be on default, so you’ll have to head over to Settings and find Site Settings under Web Pages. From there, you’ll see an option that says “Allow background audio playback.” Just toggle that to on and you’ll be good to go.

It’s worth noting that Firefox for Android has this feature as well, albeit with a required add-on. You can also use Chrome for Android’s desktop view if you don’t want to give up Chrome. However, Vivaldi makes this process simple and easy.

Disable Autoplay

Another feature being introduced to the platform is the ability to stop videos from playing automatically. If you visit a site that automatically plays a video, this setting will prevent that video from starting. This feature can be found in Settings, under Site settings. Vivaldi says the update has the feature turned on by default, so you don’t have to do anything. But you can also turn it off if you want.

Scalable UI

Mobile browsers tend to stick with the UI that’s optimized for smartphones, which may not be convenient if the browser is being used on other devices. To fix this problem, the company says it has added the ability to scale the browser’s UI elements. With this ability, users can grow or shrink the UI to be the desired size for the device they’re using. This particular feature can be found under the Accessibility settings.

Sync reminders

It seems the company doesn’t want users to forget about the benefits its browser offers. To make sure you remember, the latest version of Vivaldi will send you reminders to enable its encrypted syncing functionality. These notifications will reportedly pop up after 10 hours of combined usage or every third time a user opens the browser. If you get tired of seeing the reminder, you can either enable syncing or click on the “Don’t ask again” box.

Something else users will probably appreciate is the improvements in speed. Vivaldi states that it has done some tinkering to make it much faster to open the browser, even when starting with multiple tabs open. The company didn’t provide any data on how much faster the app opens up, however.

Vivaldi’s new update is available to download right now on Android phones, tablets, and Chromebooks. As for anyone using Apple products, the company didn’t say if these updates would come to the iOS version of the app.