Opera is looking to spice up browsers once again with its latest project, simply called Opera Neon. Built on the same browser engine as the standard Opera browser, Neon is just designed to focus primarily on content.
Opera’s new Neon browser for Macs and Windows PCs isn’t game-changing—in fact, rather than a ‘concept’, it just feels more like applying a fresh coat of paint. But Opera succeeds in paring down the browsing experience to a few select tasks. It is a refreshingly attractive design, as Neon’s background blends into the desktop, and circular tabs consciously contradict the sea of rectangles that rival browsers employ.
Upon starting up Opera Neon, you’ll immediately see some big differences between it and your usual browser of choice. The browser will automatically pulls in your desktop wallpaper to act as a backdrop to its start page, while easily identifiable bubbles on the side of the app replace the typical tab bar up top. Neon includes video pop-out and split screen modes, enabling you to easily watch a video while you browse other sites, or just simply stack two windows next to each other with a click.
A pop-out video option lets users watch videos while viewing other web pages, and a snap to the gallery feature lets users take a screenshot and crop any part of a webpage, saving it for the later use. With an included split screen mode, it is also possible to view two web pages simultaneously, just side by side.
Opera Neon won’t replace the current Opera browser, but some of the features will eventually be added to Opera. Both Windows and Mac users can download a free version of Opera Neon to test.