OSLO, Norway, June 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The way people
use the web is changing and the role of the browser has never been
greater: according to a study conducted by Opera [NASDAQ: OPRA], 65
percent of people have been spending more time online during the
last year and a half. Two thirds were also spending more time
online during their free time. The newest major release from Opera
addresses these changing patterns with a set of features that
support people during their key online activities: from video
conferencing through entertainment to sharing ideas with others and
getting feedback on them.
"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.
A better video call experience with new popout
feature
Video calls are the new reality of life and the browser is now a
key way people access different video conferences online.
Opera's recent study finds that 57 percent of people
have used the browser to join video calls in recent months. The
survey results show that they also like to multitask while video
conferencing, which can cause some issues.
Those who spend many an hour on calls will be all too familiar
with the situation when a video conference hijacks the entire
screen or will be familiar with not being able to find the tab with
the meeting after looking something up in another tab or simply
getting distracted.
Opera has fixed this problem with its brand-new video
conferencing popout feature which works with Google Meet, Zoom and
Microsoft Teams. Video conferencing popout pops the video out of
the tab and keeps it on top of other tabs. This happens
automatically whenever you're switching to another tab
and video pops in when you switch back to the video call tab. The
behavior can be adjusted in settings. This makes multitasking
easier, so you can stop juggling tabs during calls.
There's also a clever option to make the floating
window transparent giving users both more screen and constant
contact with people on the call.
With the new R5 release, the tab with the active video call is
also now marked with a red bar to make it easier to spot. And if
you still get lost in a sea of open tabs and browser windows, you
can simply use the CTRL+space keyboard shortcut and find it using a
keyword. And if you forgot about a tab that was recording from your
microphone? Opera will indicate it too.
New feature alert: Collect, organize and share ideas visually
with Pinboards
The new Pinboards feature is exactly that: a virtual pinboard
that lets users collect websites, images, links and notes in visual
form and share them with others, regardless of the device they
access it from.
Sharing a pinboard involves simply sharing a link, and those who
it's shared with can view everything the pinboard
owner posts, as well as react with emojis.
"Whether it's a group trip to
Mallorca, a collection of gaming articles, home redecorating
inspiration, shopping wishlist or anything else, we want our users
to be able to share it with other people and get their reactions -
without the need to install new apps or going through the tedious
process of creating accounts," said Maciej
Kocemba.
Pinboards look fantastic, no matter which browser or which
device they are viewed with, and no signup is needed to use the
feature. It's free to use for all. To create a new
pinboard, you'll need to use Opera.
More inclusive at streaming the music of your choice
Opera is known for its built-in features, like all the social
messengers integrated into the browser. It also boasts native
access to Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube music in the Player
feature in the sidebar. And now, the feature is more inclusive with
a wider range of music services including Deezer, Tidal, SoundCloud
and Gaana.
The Player feature itself has also been improved with additional
controls for music playback. Simply hover over the player
icon in the sidebar for a mini control popup, and skip, play,
pause, or drag the playback timeline, without having to open the
feature's panel.
"Whether you use Opera for work or play,
we're here for you," said Kocemba.
A tab hoarder or neat freak - we don't
judge
A browser wouldn't be a browser without the
occasional storm of tabs. For the tab-hoarders out there, Opera has
a useful Search in Tabs feature which lets them find a particular
tab by typing keywords.. Search in tabs is opened with the
CTRL+space shortcut, and it searches through both tab titles and
page content to find the tab you want.
If you have synced your browsers through your Opera account,
Search in Tabs will also display tabs that are open on your other
connected devices. And one more addition - if you are having a
video conference in one of your tabs, an indicator will show which
tab it's in.
From now on, Opera will also indicate duplicate tabs in the
search in tabs feature, which means you won't find
yourself opening the same tab over and over again.
Opera has never looked better
Beyond pure functionality, R5 means that Opera is also improving
its looks with a set of new wallpapers designed especially for this
release. It will also make sure to follow the system setting as far
as dark and light themes are concerned.
Messengers to stay connected to friends while
browsing
The built-in Messengers in Opera's sidebar allow
you to chat and browse at the same time, without having to switch
apps or open tabs with a given messenger. Opera currently offers
native access to Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, and
VKontakte. You can also use Instagram and Twitter directly from the
sidebar.
About Opera
Opera is leveraging 25 years at the forefront of web
development, building browsers. With hundreds of millions of
monthly engaged users across their product range and a team of 1800
engineers, researchers, analysts and marketeers across 10
countries. Opera is headquartered in Oslo
Norway and listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (OPRA).
Today Opera is building its audiences in Europe, Africa and Asia across 4 product categories; computer and
laptop browsers, AI driven news platforms and fintech
applications.
It is highly experienced in identifying consumer trends, needs
and wants and developing products that meet demand quickly,
capturing space and early adopters.
The press kit with extra images can be accessed here
VIDEOS:
Opera R5 product animation:
https://opr.as/R5
The new Opera pinboards feature explained video:
https://opr.as/pinboards
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SOURCE Opera Limited