Is it time for Opera? The browser's current form is encouraging. Opera Rulez!

Ever since Chrome appeared, it became my primary browser, which I installed on every device I used. Over time, it became a bit bloated, and the only things developing rapidly are its extensions. This means that with every extension, the browser itself requires more and more resources. On top of that, the tests I wrote about earlier have made me look at the competition more often. Vivaldi turns out to be interesting, but it still takes second place behind Chrome. Today, however, I was tempted by Opera. My first impression is an aesthetic design and fast performance. Furthermore, there is the information that I no longer need solutions like Ad Block to block ads, as Opera has been equipped with its own built-in mechanisms for this purpose. Getting interesting, right?

Just like in Chrome, we have the ability to synchronize our settings, bookmarks, etc., through our own account offered by Opera. On top of all this, it runs very fast (I know, I know, it's just a fresh install, and we'll see how the speed holds up in a week or a month). We also have access to add-ons in the repository, where I have so far found all the popular ones that most users typically use. If you get bored with the look, there's no problem using the available themes. I won't hide the fact that my previous experiences with the Opera product weren't the best. It quite quickly turned out that something was always missing, it was somehow inconvenient, things weren't in the right place, or something didn't work correctly, which caused me to return to Firefox, and since the Chrome era, Opera's position had fallen off the list entirely. 

Now it's completely different. The first impression itself is encouraging; it's somehow fast. Nothing breaks, and all functions, options, and configurations are right at hand, well-thought-out, and easily accessible. Everything works as it should. Nicely organized bookmarks, the start page, and browsing or searching through history feel fresh, clear, and fast. The feeling is also as if Chrome had undergone a successful facelift. 

One of the cool features is the ability to detach a YouTube window and place it anywhere on the screen so that it is available regardless of which browser tab we are on, or in which window of another program, allowing you to enjoy reading articles, etc., by listening and "peeking" at music. You can also use this to follow a tutorial without losing sight of the instructor. The window is easy to close and resize.

The browser also has a Battery Saver feature, which extends laptop battery life while using the browser by an hour.

I mentioned ad blocking earlier, but to see for yourself how it works, just look at the right end of the address bar, where there is a blue icon resembling a shield with an "X" sign. After clicking, you will find out how many ads have already been blocked, and you can perform a speed test of opening the page with and without ads. (Sometimes it turns out that it's faster with ads than without them)

Page load speed test in Opera with and without ads for WP.

Page load speed test in Opera for Onet with and without ads

Page load speed test in Opera for Interia with and without ads

As you can see above, WP is some kind of phenomenon, in Onet there is a significant improvement, and Interia performed best, loading in 2 seconds, with ads adding almost no delay. Check other sites for yourself.

Perhaps this is just a first impression, perhaps after some time it will turn out that I will return to Chrome for some tasks anyway. For now, however, I will check how it goes, and I encourage you to do the same. We'll see what awaits me after the first impression, we'll see if everything works as it should in a week. If you want to try it, just use the links below. 

Opera.com homepage

Opera is also available for mobile devices, but more on that in another post.