Browse the web faster on your iPhone or iPad

Opera Mini provides an interesting alternative to Safari on your iPhone or iPad. Not only is it a faster browser, but it makes accessing and managing pages very easy.

Lightning fast navigation

The great thing about Opera Mini is the technology it uses to render pages. Opera has its own servers, which are used to compress page data by up to 90% before sending it to your iPhone. You may not notice much of a difference in terms of the time it takes to actually fetch a page but once the page has been served everything displays instantaneously, where Safari often takes time to load all the various page elements.

Opera Mini makes navigating the Web easy. For instance, there’s a speed dial-style Start Page that lets you program nine of your favorite sites that can be launched with a single tap. Opera Mini boasts an easy-to-use tabbed browsing tool for switching between pages.

There are lots of other time-saving features within Opera Mini for iPhone. The app includes address auto-complete, a Find in Page tool, plus it can remember passwords and integrate with your favorite password manager apps. It also comes with support for Opera Link, which lets you synchronize your bookmarks with your desktop version of Opera, and a Share button for quickly sending links via email, Facebook, Twitter or Google+.

Like its competition, Opera features bookmark synchronization. With a free Opera account you can sign in and sync your bookmarks across devices. This syncing even extends to open tabs, meaning that it is possible to start browsing on your iPhone while on the move and then continue the same session on your desktop machine when you get home.

Getting around with Opera Mini

Navigating web pages with Opera Mini is a joyous process, especially since the latest version corrected the horrid zoom of past releases. Zooming and panning is much smoother now. Plus iPad users can now enjoy Slide Over and Split Screen support on compatible devices (iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, or later).

Tap the Tabs icon and you’ll get a dock with thumbnails of each page you have open. You can simply swipe through to the one you want to show then tap to open it. Unlike Safari, Opera Mini doesn’t reload an open page every time you go back to it. Opera Mini has the ability to open links as tabs in the background.

Opera Mini boasts long-click menus that allow you to quickly perform actions such as opening a link in a new tab, editing the Start Page and selecting text, just by holding your finger down on the screen.

One thing worth noting is that Opera Mini doesn’t always render pages correctly, and many users have pointed to examples of sites not functioning as fully as they do in Safari. It also has some issues with JavaScript, as it doesn’t support many of these elements.

Another issue with Opera Mini is that it doesn’t integrate well enough the iOS operating system, where Safari has a distinct advantage. It doesn’t support geolocation or the native Mail client, for example.

No match for Safari

Opera Mini offers fast page loading times and lots of useful web browsing tools. The problem is, some web sites target their design solely at Safari and Chrome, so they may not render properly on Opera Mini.

It’s not a good replacement for Safari, but it is useful to have Opera Mini installed as a second browser if speed and data usage is an issue for you.

If you watch a lot of videos online through your iPhone you should definitely update Opera Mini to the latest version. Opera Mini 9.0 adds a new Video Boost feature, which is designed to let you watch videos without putting a dent in your data plan. With Video Boost turned on (done through the data-savings menu), you can reduce the amount of data videos use, which has the knock-on effect of eliminating buffering and stalling.

Changes

• If you watch a lot of videos online through your iPhone you should definitely update Opera Mini to the latest version. Opera Mini 9.0 adds a new Video Boost feature, which is designed to let you watch videos without putting a dent in your data plan. With Video Boost turned on (done through the data-savings menu), you can reduce the amount of data videos use, which has the knock-on effect of eliminating buffering and stalling.

Fast, secure and easy to use

Opera Mini’s video boost feature crunches down the size of the videos before they arrive on your device. Combined with up to 90% data savings on ordinary webpages, this means time saved waiting on cool stuff and fewer nasty surprises on your phone bill.

You bought an Apple device for fancy graphics and high-power video. But, your data plan didn’t suddenly get bigger — and your network didn’t magically get faster — just because you bought a nice piece of tech.

Opera Mini crunches down the size of the websites you visit. It compresses images, video and text, making sites lighter. So, stop caring about roaming fees. Quit being frustrated by slow-loading pages. We want to be sure that you connect to the web instantly and access sites super fast, without paying any extra coin.

More than 250 million people depend on Opera Mini to free them from lagging and stalling, so they can fly through their web favorites on congested and sluggish networks.

Get up to 90% data savings. Opera Mini’s data-savings modes are perfect for getting fast-loading pages on slow connections. Take Opera Mini with you when you travel and keep roaming costs in check by using less mobile data.

Night mode. Opera Mini’s smarter night mode helps you to read more comfortably in the dark. Toggle between two options to dim your screen, relieve your eyes and help you get healthier sleep and rest.

Enjoy more video. Watch videos when you want on your mobile device while using less data. Turn on video boost in the data-savings menu to prevent buffering and stalling.

Take your bookmarks with you. Do even more with bookmarks in Opera Mini. Sync your phone’s bookmarks with your tablet or computer. From work to your commute to the couch, you can change your surroundings without losing your favorites.

View your favorites with one tap. Stay up to date with the content that matters most to you, right on the browser’s start page, with Speed Dial. Add pages by tapping the + icon.

Explore new things. Find the best, new articles from your fields of interest with the Discover feature. You’ll never be bored again.

Look your best. Opera Mini has a completely new look, and you can choose between different themes.

Never lose your place. Multi-task and flip between pages with the tab gallery. Find, open and close tabs with a flick of your thumb.

Don’t worry, your secrets are safe. Keep your history and passwords out of sight with private tabs. They remove any trace of the websites you visit from the browser.

Make QR codes useful again. QR codes finally make sense when they can be read inside the browser. Ditch your QR-code app; it probably doesn’t handle videos or music anyway.

Opera Mini makes sure you stay connected, gets you the fastest content and saves you loads of data.