The latest version of the Opera browser launched today, featuring support for "Aura," a way to accelerate the entire browser experience using your PC's graphics card.
Opera 21, available for download for Windows and Mac, is using Aura, a technology that allows us to hardware-accelerate the entire browser, including the user interface.
"Aura allows for smoother, snappier animations with a more responsive feel," Opera said in a blog post. "So far, we have only scratched the surface of this technology, and Opera 21’s primary intention was to get Aura working and stable. In the future, you will see further benefits as it allows us to give everything that little extra bit of polish!"
Google also plans to move to Aura Chrome 35, which should be released on or about June 6. Don't forget that Opera and Google's own Chrome browser are using the same underlying Chromium technology
Still, Opera has included some additional new features to the latest browser. The company hides all but the domain of a URL, so a lengthy address will simply show the main domain of a web site. Opera 21 also provides an option to make persistently show a page’s complete URL in the address field.
Other key fixes and improvements include:
- Updated Chromium to 34.0.1847.132 for even better site compatibility.
- Opera will now scale with screens that use 200% DPI setting in Windows.
- Reworked Mac keyboard handling to allow for better support of web apps such as Google Docs and GitHub.
- Off-Road mode (Opera Turbo) is explained when it is enabled.
For a full list of all the hundreds of changes, improvements and fixes, refer to the Opera 21 Changelog.