The traditional web browser is stuck in an evolutionary pit from which it cannot escape. Appearance, features, performance, efficiency... none of that has improved in recent editions. Its builds experimental only offer more of the same, but in the realm of Opera a very interesting concept has just appeared: Neon. This browser is shaping up as a platform to explore very different ideas, starting with the fact of turning the browser into a sort of desktop on which we can share images, play videos and listen to music without taking up tabs.
The State of Browsers
For a long time, browsers have behaved similarly to an operating system. They incorporated a huge amount of tools in an attempt to improve user productivity, which in turn brought problems of stability, security, and performance. Unfortunately, there isn't much competition to speak of. Chrome dominates more than half the market, Firefox is falling apart, Microsoft doesn't know what to do to optimize Edge's numbers, and Safari seems content in its little universe. The only one willing to try other things is Opera. Its numbers are so low that some statistics don't even register it, however, something is cooking among its experimental versions.
A Different Approach
Imagine the browser transformed into another desktop. Your favorite sites as shortcuts, window splitting à la Windows, functions to copy and paste images, undocked windows in which audio and video play, and much more. That's what we find in Opera Neon, a new concept that anyone interested can download today. Chat while browsing. Videos and music escape their pages. Favorites and tabs as bubbles that are easily manipulated. Transparencies and animations that add rather than subtract. The vast majority of keyboard shortcuts remain intact in Opera Neon, so keyboard riders will be able to control it in seconds.
Under the Hood
Beyond the massive visual restructuring, Opera Neon is Chromium at its core, although since it's a prototype, there is no support for extensions yet. Now... the people at Opera have something here. Honestly, I don't think Opera Neon will reach the market as it is, and most likely some of its features will pass through the standard version of Opera first, but Neon represents a new feedback channel, and a space where mistakes can be made, or successes discovered. We'll be keeping a close eye on it.
