With more of our tasks moving to the web browser, Opera has been working on a major update, releasing a version called R5 with a focus on collaboration between each other, alongside user interface improvements and a bigger focus on video calling.
Opera has always been one to try and redefine what you can do in a browser, other than managing tabs and use extensions. Many built-in features have removed the need for other tabs and even applications to be used separately here, such as WhatsApp integration and more.
The new update looks to address the needs of more people being online due to working from home, with a focus on features that look to help with this even more.
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What’s new in R5?
Opera is making a big push in making features that keep users from moving away from the browser, by refining the integration of other services further that other browsers don’t offer.
“Many people have become true power users of the web in the past year and a half. With today’s release, Opera is providing smart ways to improve their online lives,” said Maciej Kocemba, product director at Opera.
The main improvements coming with R5 look to be useful for many, such as:
- A better video call experience with a new pop-out feature
- Collect, organize and share ideas visually with Pinboards
- Integrated Player feature has been improved with additional controls for music playback
- Better support for built-in Messengers, such as Facebook and WhatsApp
- A refined method of searching for tabs
With Firefox recently redesigning its UI to focus on tabs, while Microsoft Edge is seemingly getting ready to appear on Windows 11, and Apple’s redesign of Safari, it looks like all systems go for web browsers to make a fresh impression on users.
You can download the latest version of Opera by either going to the website, or by selecting ‘Check for Updates’ in the web browser.
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