Yes, you can read this article on your Polestar 2
With touchscreens finding a home in most modern cars now, manufacturers and developers are constantly looking at ways to improve the experience and features they offer. Some people will tell you that “simple and streamlined” is the way to go, while others want to cram in as much functionality as possible. Fans of the latter camp will be tickled to learn that Android Automotive is now getting its first web browser and no, it’s not Chrome.
Vivaldi beat Google to the punch and the company’s browser is now available on the 11-inch displays of all Polestar 2 vehicles in American, European, and Asian Pacific markets. This is a fully functional browser that supports tabbed browsing, media streaming (someone’s already watching Simpsons on theirs), and even has features like a built-in ad blocker, note-taking function, tracking protection, and translation tool.
Given the nature of Android Automotive there are understandably a few safety and privacy restrictions in place here. The browser is accessible only when the car is parked and streaming content will continue in audio-only mode if driving commences. Another restriction is the inability to download any kind of files to the system — Vivaldi doesn’t mention why, but the last thing you’d want is anything malicious distracting you while you’re trying to drive.
Vivaldi claims that none of the browsing data is stored by the car, but you can choose to log in to your Vivaldi account to sync browsing history across all the platforms the browser supports (Android, Linux, macOS, Windows). There’s also a promise of regular software updates on par with its other clients.
There’s no word on when the browser will be made available for other cars, but if you own a Polestar 2 you can install the app now by simply heading to Play Store.
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