Vivaldi iOS 7.9: Two-Level Tab Stacks and Safari Importer Explained
Vivaldi's iPhone and iPad app now displays a persistent second row of tabs when a stack is active. The tabs inside that stack appear in a dedicated bar beneath the main one, always one tap away, with no modal switcher and no expand-collapse animation. The feature is called Two-Level Tab Stack, and Android users have had it since 2021. iOS gets it in version 7.9, released today, five years later, according to Neowin.
That gap is the first thing worth understanding. iOS is a harder platform to build on, more constrained at the UI level and more restrictive for third-party browsers, and Vivaldi didn't simply port the feature across. It built toward it methodically, adding tab stacking to the tab bar in version 7.4, a dedicated Tab Stack Pane in 7.6, and the two-level display now in 7.9, as Vivaldi's own release history documents. The arrival of the second row completes that sequence.
Version 7.9 also adds a Safari data importer that removes the main friction point for users considering a switch. The tab feature is the headline; the importer explains who benefits most from acting on it.
Vivaldi 7.9 iOS features: two-level vs. accordion tab stacking
The feature name describes a visual layout, but the real question is what changes about how you move through tabs during a working session.
Accordion, the previous default, keeps stacked tabs collapsed into a single slot on the primary tab bar. Tapping the stack expands the group inline. That's clean when stacks are idle, but every tab switch within the group requires expanding and then collapsing again. Multiply that by twenty context switches in a working session and it becomes a noticeable drag.
Two-Level keeps the contents of whichever stack is active in a second, persistent row beneath the main tab bar. The primary row stays clean; the stack row handles switching without any expand-collapse step. Vivaldi's release notes confirm this layout is now the default for new users, with Accordion still available at Settings > Tabs > Tab Stacking Style.
The tradeoff is concrete: Two-Level gives faster access at the cost of screen real estate. On iPad, that's an easy call. The larger display absorbs the second row without crowding the viewport. On iPhone in portrait mode, two tab bars compete for vertical space above the page, which is a real constraint. iPhone users who keep only one or two tabs in each stack may find Accordion cleaner for their habits.
It's also worth separating the display layer from the organizational system underneath it. Vivaldi's tab-stack management on iOS, including naming stacks, color-coding them for visual scanning, dragging tabs to reorder, removing individual tabs from a group, and deleting a stack entirely, has been in place since version 7.4, as Vivaldi's help documentation shows. The two-level display in 7.9 sits on top of that system. It doesn't add organizational depth; it makes the depth that already exists faster to navigate.
For iPad users managing multiple active research threads or project workspaces, that combination, named and color-coded stacks accessible via a persistent second row, is the closest Vivaldi has come on iOS to matching the workflow its desktop version enables.
How to set up double-decker tab stacks on iPhone and iPad
Getting started takes a few seconds. Long-press the New Tab button in the tab bar, then select "New Tab Stack" from the menu, as Neowin explains. Give the stack a name and a color to keep it visually distinct from other stacks, then tap Create Stack. Alternatively, existing tabs can be grouped from the Tab Switcher by selecting multiple tabs and choosing Add Tabs to New Stack, per Vivaldi's help documentation.
To switch between Two-Level and Accordion styles, go to Settings > Tabs > Tab Stacking Style, according to Neowin. Two-Level is enabled by default for new users. Existing users who upgrade will keep their current setting until they change it manually.
Once a stack is active, switching between tabs inside it is a single tap on the second row. No switcher to open, nothing to expand.
The Safari importer: why the switching cost just dropped
Version 7.9 also lets iOS users migrate their Safari data, including bookmarks, saved passwords, and stored payment card details, into Vivaldi through a single entry in Settings, according to Neowin. To start the migration, open Settings and tap "Safari import."
Saved passwords are often the sticking point for users considering a switch. A new browser starts with an empty credential store, which means rebuilding years of login data manually or running a separate password manager in parallel. The import tool handles that in one step.
The import function complements the tab feature rather than competing with it. Two-level tab stacks give users with complex browsing habits a reason to want Vivaldi; the Safari importer removes the reason they'd stay put despite wanting to leave. The combination makes 7.9 the first Vivaldi iOS release that addresses both the pull and the push at once.
One caveat applies: independent verification of the import's reliability, particularly for payment card data, isn't available in current coverage. Users with sensitive stored credentials should confirm the transfer before treating Vivaldi as their primary browser.
A ten-month build on the platform that made it hardest
The five-year gap between Android and iOS is structural rather than accidental. Android got the feature in 2021; iOS gets it in 2026. Neowin describes iOS as "a much more restrictive platform for developers", and the specific constraints matter. Third-party browsers on iOS run on Apple's WebKit engine and operate within tight UI boundaries. Vivaldi's Android version has never faced those limits in the same way.
What the release timeline actually shows is a ten-month build on iOS once the tab organization foundation was in place:
- Version 7.4 (May 2025): Tab stacking on the tab bar, with support for naming stacks and color-coding them, as Vivaldi documented at the time
- Version 7.6 (October 2025): A Tab Stack Pane providing a structured overview of all stacks in the tab switcher, as gHacks reported
- Version 7.9 (March 2026): The two-level display, completing the sequence
Each version addressed a different layer of the problem: structure first, navigation second, display third.
The exact technical reasons the second-level display couldn't ship earlier aren't documented in available sources. The broader context is worth noting. Advocacy groups including Open Web Advocacy have argued that Apple's post-DMA browser conditions, EU-only alternative engines and no global rollout of expanded browser permissions, mean meaningful browser differentiation on iPhone remains harder than it should be, as reported by Gigadgets citing OWA. That context describes the environment Vivaldi is building in. It doesn't fully explain this specific delay, and the connection shouldn't be overstated.
What's clear is that Vivaldi has reached a genuine milestone within the constraints that exist, not because those constraints loosened.
What version 7.9 changes in practice
Two audiences have the most to gain from this update, and the gains are different enough to be worth stating separately.
For users who keep several tabs in active rotation across multiple stacks, especially on iPad, the persistent second row removes a recurring friction point. The underlying stack system was already capable; 7.9 makes it fast enough to use without thinking about it. That's when workflow tools actually earn their place.
For Safari users with years of accumulated data, the import tool changes the calculation on switching. The migration cost, which for most users has been the real obstacle rather than any preference for Safari, drops to a single menu action. Combined with the tab-management depth already in place, Vivaldi 7.9 makes a more credible pitch to those users than any previous version.
The broader implication is about Vivaldi's iOS trajectory. Version 7.9 is the first iOS release where the tab system feels complete enough to matter for serious mobile browsing. The organizational tools, the navigation layer, and the display mode are all finally in place together, with the Safari importer lowering the cost of trying it. For anyone who actually pushes a mobile browser hard, that's a different proposition than it was ten months ago. The update is available through the App Store.
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