Opera 62 is out with some minor changes
Opera Software releases a new stable version of the company's Opera browser on June 27, 2019 to the public. The new Opera 62 web browser features updates to the design and a new feature that brings the browsing history to the New Tab page of the web browser.
But first, the basics. The update to Opera 62 is already available as a download on the official Opera website and as an in-browser update. Just select Opera Menu > Update & Recovery to start the update to the latest version.
Opera should pick up the new version automatically and install it. A restart of the web browser completes the process.
Tip: You can check the version by loading opera://about in the browser's address bar. The version is 62.0.3331.18 after the update.
Opera 62: What is new
One of the new features of Opera 62 is support for the dark theme of Windows 10. Opera 62 picks up the selected theme -- light or dark -- on Windows 10 automatically to apply a similar theme to the browser.
Users may enable the theme by loading opera://settings and selecting Advanced > Appearance > Enable dark theme.
The dark theme comes with an improved design according to Opera Software; it was available in previous versions already, but the new version features additional tweaks that make Opera even darker when the theme is activated.
The two remaining changes that Opera Software highlights are support for larger Speed Dial tiles, and the new Task Completer feature.
Task Completer works "in a context where retrieving previous search results is most important" according to Opera Software. The current iteration is limited to a single use case -- travel -- and a single site, Booking.com, right now.
[..] in this first experimental release of the Task Completer, we are helping you get back to the hotels that you searched for on booking.com. We will present them to you locally, on Opera’s Speed Dial. This is done fully client-side, without any network look-up, and will only appear for active booking.com users who have looked into at least 3 different hotels.
The screenshot on the Opera blog suggests that hotels or flights that you looked at may be displayed on the Speed Dial page as tiles, and that is indeed what happened after I ran a couple of searches and opened some hotels on the site.
Opera makes no mention whether it has struck a deal with Booking, and it is unclear if the feature will be expanded in the future to cover other sites or topics.
I don't find it particularly useful as it is too limited and because I prefer to bookmark pages when they are of interest.
You can disable the feature with a click on the x-icon and selecting "don't show again, I'm not interested".
Another change is only mentioned in the full changelog. You may load opera://conflicts in the browser to list all modules loaded into the browser and renderer processes and modules registered to load at a later point. May be useful for troubleshooting purposes.
Now you: What is your take on the new Task Completer feature?
It’s interesting what they come up with to stay competitive, although it always boils down to routing users through affiliate links.
Still, managing to get around 40% of the revenue through non-search deals with a browser is highly impressive.
Too bad they aren’t trustworthy.
Is there any real proof at all that Opera mis-processes users’ data?
@ShintoPlasm,
The evidence is unclear but there are serious doubts:
Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600 million
https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/18/opera-browser-sold-to-a-chinese-consortium-for-600-million/
Opera’s privacy policy is explicitly stating that your data will be collected and shared with third parties. Additionally, Opera was sold to a large Chinese conglomerate and it’s not clear if there are any protections of user data under Chinese law – unlike, for example, with the GDPR in Europe.
https://restoreprivacy.com/secure-browser/
Opera Software is a Norwegian software company[10] publicly listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange,[11] with the majority of ownership and control belonging to Chinese businessman Zhou Yahui, founder of Beijing Kunlun Tech[12] which specialises in mobile games and Chinese cybersecurity company Qihoo 360.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_(web_browser)
Qihoo 360
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qihoo_360
Look like ads to me. Opera has previously pushed booking.com on my speeddial, even though I have “suggestions” disabled.
Still, I’ll keep using it, because it’s the least shitty browser at the moment. It’s depressing.