Opera's Minimalist Mobile Browser Gets a Design Overhaul

Opera today is releasing a substantial update to its two-and-a-half-year-old Opera Touch mobile browsing app.

opera mobile browser 2021 update
Now titled simply "Opera," the revamped version features a "neater and flatter design" that aims to reflect its lightweight underpinnings and its status as a minimalist app that promises users a fast and secure browsing experience.

The revamp of the user interface in Opera also unveils a neater and flatter design that gives the browser a more refined appearance than before. The new-look replaces the diagonal background pattern, initially introduced into Opera Touch, with flat surfaces and removing shadows on bubbles and other elements.

New icons have been added in the bottom bar and the floating Fast Action button, which users can touch to access a radial menu and swipe through several one-handed actions with their thumb.

The browser also includes a feature called Flow that uses a QR code to securely link the iOS app with the Mac, allowing users to share links, notes, images, files, and other information over a secure and private connection, no logins required.

In addition, Opera comes with a built-in Ethereum wallet, built-in ad blocking, and protection against disguised online cryptocurrency mining, or "cryptojacking".

Opera says its iOS user base increased by over 65% in the 12 months to February, and believes that the growth has been partly thanks to Apple's decision to let users choose a default browser in iOS 14.

Opera is available for iPhone and iPad in several languages and can be downloaded directly from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
iphone 17 air iphone 16 pro

iPhone 17 Air USB-C Port May Have This Unusual Design Quirk

Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years. iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack) At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...

Top Rated Comments

Unggoy Murderer Avatar
54 months ago
Wouldn't touch Opera with a barge-pole since it was sold to a shady Chinese equity firm a few years back.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
54 months ago

They still have to obey EU law and EU privacy making it far less of a data harvester than one of those American companies that collect everything about you.
... a company that also has to obey EU legislation. Doesn't mean I'd trust either of them with my data.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Westwood_1 Avatar
54 months ago
The marriage between the Chinese government and Chinese tech companies is a terrible thing. I have no trust in Opera to abide by EU regulations, simply because I think Opera has an even more demanding governmental interest at home.

It's a shame, too. Opera had some unique features (built-in VPN, mouse gestures, data-saving mode, built-in adblocker) that I really liked.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unggoy Murderer Avatar
54 months ago

Opera is as much to do with China as any other company with outside investors. It is still developed in the EU and still has to abide by EU law which is much stricter than the USA... the USA has almost no protections and this is why you have Facebook and Google knowing everything about you.
With respect, I don't think you understand how the EU's legislation / directives (particularly around the GDPR) work.

What the GDPR sets out is at a high level the following:
[LIST=1]
* There must be informed consent to subject data collection / processing
* When data is stored on a data subject, it must be in accordance with the directive, and local laws / customs (in the UK for example, it's implemented in law under the Data Protection Act 2018)
* Data subject has right to request data access, edits, deletions, in a timely, fair manner.
* Lots more around data transmission, retention periods, encryption at rest, etc.

With that in mind, there is absolutely nothing wrong (lawfully) with Google, Facebook and the like collecting all and anything about you as long as they are in accordance with the GDPR. Nothing in the GDPR says that these companies can't mine the living daylights out of your data after you've consented. It does not mean that your data will be treated with respect, or any morals.

Facebook and Google have far more to lose if they don't play ball around the GDPR (and rightly so), however Chinese firms - can and have - effectively ignored it, just like all other laws and regulations (especially around copyrights, designs and patents).

(In addition, don't confuse EU law with regulations, directives, and decisions. The GDPR is a directive, not law.)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsareveryinteresting Avatar
54 months ago

Which browser to use: Chrome or Opera? :rolleyes:
Chrome big time. Like I’m going to trust China.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ruka.snow Avatar
54 months ago

... a company that also has to obey EU legislation. Doesn't mean I'd trust either of them with my data.
If you can't trust a EU company that has absolutely no interest in collecting your personal data and spying on you I have no idea who you would trust. I could understand if it we were talking about Google or Facebook, but this is Opera. EU companies have very strict data collecting policies and if you were worried you could do a subject access request and data deletion request that would cost them a significant amount of money if they failed to comply. Opera are also not allowed to transfer data to China, but can transfer it to the USA(where it could become unsafe). As long as they are not transferring your data to the USA I wouldn't be worried in the slightest.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)