Opera is Reborn with built-in Facebook chat

A new version of the Opera browser has been unleashed under the codename Reborn, and this major revamp brings forth some neat new features, including integrated messenger chat from a trio of popular apps.

Reborn lifts some of the best bits from Opera’s concept browser, Neon – which was shown off back at the start of the year – with the primary attraction being built-in chat with support for Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram.

This feature allows you to pin a messenger window right next to your current open browsing tab, so you have both side-by-side, and can monitor the chat and surf the web simultaneously, as opposed to having to constantly switch between tabs.

You can also have multiple chats going at the same time, and cycle between different messaging apps in the pinned chat window at the tap of a keyboard shortcut.

Light and shade

The UI has also been worked on, and has a simplified and cleaner look overall, plus some extra touches such as icons that change color when active, and animations for various interface elements. There are also two new color themes – light and dark – and a bunch of new background wallpapers.

As you may be aware, Opera is trying all sorts of interesting tricks in an attempt to differentiate itself from rival browsers, and in the past the firm has made moves such as integrating a VPN service and providing built-in ad-blocking.

Reborn bolsters the latter feature, giving you more control over blocking options, and making the browser automatically reload the web page whenever you switch ad-blocking on or off.

Various other tweaks have been made under the hood, one of which allows for smoother video playback within the browser (and less battery drain for those on laptops).

If you’re entering a password or other sensitive details, such as a credit card number, Reborn will also warn you that the ‘login is not secure’ if the web page you’re on isn’t HTTPS.

• Maybe you’ll be browsing with Reborn on one of our best laptops