Opera released the Opera Mini 8 to the Apple App Store, a revamped version of the Opera Mini for iOS devices, with a fresh new user interface along with several updated features.
The new "flat" look of the Opera Mini 8 matches with the aesthetic changes that the iOS underwent when it released its seventh version, keeping it in step as a popular alternative to the mobile version of Apple's Safari.
Once Opera Mini 8 is booted up, users are treated to a design that looks very similar to mobile Safari. The buttons, menus, animations and search bar all evoke a Safari-like design. Even the controls are familiar, including swiping down on the browser to refresh the page that the user is viewing.
There are three modes featured in the Opera Mini 8. The first mode, and the default one, is Speed Dial, which shows the user's saved webpages arranged in a grid that can be organized by folders. Speed Dial is accessible from anywhere in Opera Mini through the grid icon.
The second mode is Discover, which functions similarly to a reader app. This mode compiles the top stories from a customizable list of feeds which includes Technology and Sports. Each article is featured as a tile and headline that makes it easier to browse through them, but users can only choose from a preset list that Opera programmed into the browser.
The third mode is focused on user history, where browsing history can be edited to delete visited websites one at a time or all at once through a press of a button.
Opera Mini 8 users also have three ways to choose from when browsing the Internet. The first mode, a holdover from previous versions, is the Opera Mini mode, which features up to 90 percent compression in data savings, which is ideal for locations where network coverage is poor. This mode is also useful when a user has already reached the data cap of the smartphone's subscriber plan.
The second mode is the new Opera Turbo mode, which Opera says is the ideal browsing mode. This mode is not as extreme in data savings as the Opera Mini mode, but provides additional website compatibility.
The last mode is, of course, turning data savings off, which would probably appeal to users that have unlimited data plans.
The Opera Mini 8 is free and is now available for download at the Apple App Store for both the iPhone and iPad.
