The browser space is constantly evolving, with new contenders such as Arc, Zen, and Opera Air emerging to challenge the established giants like Chrome and Edge. Among them, the recently introduced Opera Air promises a fresh browsing experience with a suite of unique features built around mindfulness. But does it truly offer enough to entice users away from their familiar browsers?

I have put Opera Air to the test, explored its unique features, and compared it head-to-head with the industry leaders. Let’s see if Opera’s latest offering is the game-changer it promises to be or just another fleeting trend. Let’s start with the positives.

Beautiful UI

Eye-catching esthetics

One of Opera Air's most immediately noticeable features is its stunning visual design. It's a breath of fresh air compared to the often bland interfaces of Chrome and Edge. The rounded corners and subtle translucent effects add a layer of sophistication, and it makes the browsing experience more fluid and engaging.

The background Air wallpapers, in particular, are eye-catching and neatly designed. Overall, it blends perfectly with the mindfulness concept of Opera Air. Microsoft was working on a similar makeover for Edge but later decided to scrap it.

Boost and mindfulness

Takes care of your mental health

At first, I thought Opera Air’s commitment to mental well-being was just a marketing buzzword. However, it’s more than a gimmick. Opera Air offers Boost, a feature designed to stimulate specific brainwave frequencies through carefully curated music and soundscapes. Whether you are seeking a surge of creativity, relief from the day's stress, or even want to recall your dreams, Boost provides a list of templates to take some time away from the screen.

Take a Break is another neat function that gives guided breathing exercises, gentle neck stretches, and a full body scan. This isn't your typical timer. Opera Air supports facial scanning technology, which accurately detects your posture and provides detailed, real-time instructions to ensure you are performing ergonomically. Overall, with Opera Air, you no longer need a third-party service like Calm or Headspace for mental well-being.

Packed with usual Opera goodies

A long list of useful features

As an official offering from Opera, it comes with usual goodies out of the box. There is a handy reader mode to strip away unnecessary elements from a website, Aria AI (optional GPT-4o or Gemini 1.5), Pinboards to collect, organize, and share links with others, workspaces, and a sidebar to pin your favorite websites.

Another neat feature is Opera VPN, which prevents third parties from tracking you. Since it’s Chromium-based, Opera Air is compatible with all the extensions from the Chrome Web Store. Everything is neatly implemented and doesn’t overwhelm new users. Overall, Opera has done a decent job with feature additions, and it surely doesn’t feel like a one-month-old browser.

Now, let’s go over some of the cons you may notice while switching from Chrome or Edge.

Cross-platform availability

With one major exception

Opera Air has native apps on Windows and Mac only. Even with Windows, there is no ARM version yet. As for mobile apps, you need to rely on the standard Opera app to sync your browsing history and bookmarks. If you plan to use it on all your devices, you may have inconsistent experiences. If a seamless cross-platform experience is important to you, then you must rely on Chrome or Edge.

Misses out on vertical tabs

A crucial part of my workflow

Microsoft Edge is my go-to browser for surfing the web. I absolutely love its vertical tabs. I use it all the time on my ultra-wide monitor. So I was bummed to see Opera Air missing out on such a crucial feature. By placing tabs along the side of the screen, they utilize unused horizontal space and offer descriptive tab titles. The absence of this feature in Opera Air feels like a missed opportunity.

Average tab management

Not the strongest part of Opera Air

Tab management is simply poor in Opera Air. You can pin important notes or create different workspaces and that’s about it. Unlike Chrome and Edge, there is no way to create tab groups. It’s the one feature I use all the time when researching complex topics. There is no way to collaborate on your workspace tabs either.

Does Opera Air tick all the boxes? No

Opera’s focus on mindfulness is a unique and commendable concept, and it surely gets the fundamentals of browsing right. However, I’m puzzled as to why Opera decided to launch an entirely new browser rather than integrate these features as an add-on in their existing offering.

Besides, the lack of Windows ARM support is a significant con if you have one of the latest laptops. For myself, Opera Air doesn't offer enough compelling reasons to make the leap from Edge. However, I do encourage you to give it a try and see if Opera’s vision for web browsing resonates with your browsing needs. While you are at it, check out these browser extensions to power your personal productivity on Opera Air.