Opera has made a name for itself in the browser market for the last few years. The company has been offering features that rival those on Google Chrome and Firefox on Android, iOS, and also web.
Opera keeps launching browsers that address numerous requests users have, and which other platforms do not pack. Not long ago, the tech giant released a new Opera Touch browser that targets the increasing pain-point of today’s smartphones. The mobile devices are getting bigger, and the new browser pushed all the significant buttons and the options at the bottom.
The regular Opera browser is great for daily use. The Opera Mini is for those who have little storage and mobile data and are looking for a light browsing experience. We’ve put together a short comparison between the Opera Mini and Opera Touch so that you can have the possibility to choose the ideal browser for you, based on your usage patterns.
Opera Mini vs. Opera Touch
Opera Touch has about 7.5 MB, and the Opera Mini only occupies about less than 8.8 MB of data. The first significant differences between these two browsers, however, appear in regard to the user interface.
User Interface
Opera Mini offers a simple UI with options at the bottom and the rest at the top; the home tab is, however, filled with unnecessary news tabs, which can be removed from the Settings menu. Users can access the data saving as well as ad-blocker options at the bottom of the screen. The recent tabs menu also looks similar to the Android multitasking menu.
Opera Touch comes with an enhanced UI for one-handed use. No matter the size of the smartphone, the browser makes it easy to find the option in the user interface. All the features are placed at the bottom in the remote style UI, and to see the options, you have to simply swipe up. There’s the possibility to add a new tab as well, quickly use opened tabs, scan a QR code, and search with the gesture UI.
Features
Both browsers come with numerous useful features. They both pack an ad-blocking function, and Opera Mini also supports data saving, which can be of help if you have little mobile data.
Users can also adjust the default Red theme in the settings, and employ the night theme. Opera Touch also has cryptocurrency mining protection, pop-up blocker, and a few search engines you can choose from. There’s the possibility to send links to a connected PC through the ‘My Flow’ feature.
Multitasking
Multitasking cards are taken differently by both browsers. While the Opera Mini keeps it simple with a bar Ui at the bottom and a horizontal card style menu, the Opera Touch dominates the place with this feature.
Opera Mini’s style only allows users to see one tab at the time, which is very unfortunate, a waste of space, which ends up in unneeded tab scrolling. In the meantime, Opera Touch shines at this functionality; you can swipe up the bottom button to access all the apps. However, the opened tab won’t display any content.
Speed and Data Usage
Both browsers have a quick web page loading speed. Data usage has been incredibly low on Opera Mini, which is not odd considering the fact that it has always been the main point it sells.
The Bottom Line
Depending on the smartphone you are using, either Opera Touch or Opera Mini could be more feasible. Opera Touch is great as it keeps the options at hand. Opera Mini’s main selling points, such as data savings, are not that important for some, as not everyone likes old style UIs and are tight on mobile data.
