Now that I’ve had a few days to play around with the newly released Opera Mini browser app for iPhone, I thought it would be a good idea to circle back around and post some feedback.
To start, it is probably worth noting that Opera announced today that their app has been downloaded over 1 million times already. This probably isn’t that big a surprise for those of us that have been paying attention as Opera Mini has been the top of all free apps in each of the 22 app stores by country throughout the world. I’d say that indicates folks were ready for a little something new.
In terms of the apps look, feel and performance, I have been pleased. Opera Mini is definitely fast. I’ve tested several sites and have had Opera load anywhere from 3 seconds all the way to 14 seconds faster than Safari. Opera can do this because they utilize caching servers to compress data before they send it to your phone. This allows it to load more quickly once compressed. If you have used the app, you probably notice a couple seconds of initial delay, but then once it begins loading, it goes very quickly. Safari might start loading more quickly, but it takes a bit longer to load completely which is where Opera really has the advantage. On more data intensive sites, there is really no comparison between the two in terms of speed.
Opera is a good looking mini browser and has some nice functionality. I like the full page viewing feature. In this mode, it removes the red band across the top of the app leaving just the address bar. It also removes the controls bar across the bottom, replacing it with a back button and an up arrow button to unhide the hidden controls bar. This gives you a little more room to view the contents of the screen, which is nice. Opera also gives you 10 total pages to use vs Safari’s 8. I’m not sure how big a deal that really is, but I guess it might help some people to be able to have 2 additional screens available. Another nice feature is the Start Page. This page allows you to save up to 9 of your favorite sites for fast loading with a single tap. It gives you a thumbnail view of each so you have plenty of tapping surface which makes it harder to miss your intended target. Again, not a huge deal, but not a bad little feature.
On the downside, pinch to zoom is not enabled on the browser at this time. A double tap on the screen will take you in 1 level and double tapping again will take you back out. If you try pinch to zoom, it will just zoom in 1 level and you can pinch again to go back out. While I must admit that in Safari I don’t pinch to zoom much, I usually just double tap to read text, there are occasions when it is useful and I’m surprised it isn’t currently enabled on Opera Mini. I’ve not heard anything yet about there being a potential update to allow for pinch to zoom in the future.
Another issue for me, and a bit more of an irritation is the use of a “done” button on the keyboard in Opera Mini, rather than a “search” button in search boxes. When I go to a search box and type in a query, I click “done” in Opera, and in almost all cases, nothing happens. I have to click on the search button next to the box on the web page itself to start the search. I prefer the way Safari has a “search” button on the keyboard allowing you to start your search after typing without exiting the keyboard. Both browsers seem to function the same when typing web addresses into the address bar, but there is a key difference when typing search queries. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, but it seems like that would be a no brainer when creating the app.
Overall, I enjoy using the Opera Mini app on my iPhone. I still use Safari too because it seems to work a little more smoothly at times, but when I’m looking for more speed, and especially when I’m in an area with only Edge service, Opera Mini is the way to go.
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