We've seen big improvements to the stock web browser this year, with Firefox and Safari getting big overhauls, and the Opera browser now available on Google Chromebooks. As the imminent return of students to campus approaches, it seems more important than ever for web browsers to do more than just display web pages that meet a certain standard, as they now need to make it easy to communicate, work, and even communication. With the R5 update now available, we let Opera know about plans for the near future, including preparing for the release of Windows 11.
Opera and Chromebooks together
With Chromebooks in the hands of students for a few years now, our first question at Opera came as no surprise, why only now? “We have always believed in giving users the option to choose a browser other than the system default. We have noticed the growing importance and popularity of Chromebooks over the past year and a half and decided to take action,” said Stefan Stjernelund, Opera Product Manager for Android and Arjan van Leeuwen, Opera Desktop Product Engineering Manager. “It's a tough balance with a web browser that does more than display the Internet in a modern user interface, so we wanted to know what the team was especially proud of as we marked its 26th anniversary this year of being available to users. " “We treat our browser as a whole, but of course we're proud of the many features that were previously unavailable in a browser on ChromeOS. We've added free unlimited browser VPN, native access to messaging, Instagram and Twitter, and the built-in crypto wallet. But looking at the big picture, we're proud to continue to offer premium browsers that don't come pre-installed on users' devices. This means that people who use Opera have taken a moment to consider their options and have chosen our browser instead of the original default browser - that's what we're especially proud of.
(Image credit: Opera)
Windows 11 and Opera
Of course, with Windows 11 on the horizon, we asked Opera if having its web browser in the Store was something they were looking into leading up to launch and what they were planning to update next. “We are exploring our options, but our goal will be to bring Opera to the Microsoft Store as soon as possible. So far we have seen a bit more ease of use in the new Windows 11 user interface, and of course any changes that make life easier for our Windows users are welcome,” Stjernelund and van Leeuwen point out. "Regarding the Microsoft Store, we're very happy to see Microsoft opening the store to more products and developers, and we think this could be an opportunity to distribute Opera to users used to the App Store download model."
(Image credit: LaComparacion)
Accessibility in R5
With the R5 update now available to users, accessibility is a topic now rightly considered a high priority by many companies. Opera agreed with this in mind that the user experience should be the top priority when working on future versions of the web browser. “Improving the user experience is always our top priority at Opera, which is why we've placed integrated messaging, as well as Twitter, Instagram, and a music player in the sidebar. In the case of R5, it was certainly important to make new features easy to reach and use. In case of video conference plus facile with the video appel pop out, the user won't be able to access it, he is there and will be automatically activated the passerby to another onglet: the video appel rests to the foreground. In the case of bulletin boards, they can be easily accessed directly from the address bar (the pin symbol).
Opera GX on Chromebook?
Now that Opera on Chromebooks is an alternative option for users, especially college students, as the next academic year is on the horizon, we wanted to see if the gaming version of Opera, GX, could also make its way to Chromebook laptops. Google in the future. "Let's see. We just released the mobile version of Opera GX, so it's now available on all major platforms besides Chromebook.