Opera becomes the latest ARM-native browser: “Windows is our biggest audience, so Snapdragon X (devices are) top priority”
Microsoft is “excited to see Opera for Windows devices powered by Snapdragon” after its App Assure team assisted in development.
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What you need to know
Since Qualcomm’s latestSnapdragon Summit Keynotetowards the end of 2023, it has been teasing laptops and other Windows devices powered byupcoming Snapdragon X chips. The ultra-efficientSnapdragon X EliteARM processor continues to promise aWindows on Armrenaissance as a slew of devices fromOEMs like Dell begin to leak, and more affordable variants powered bySnapdragon X Pluschips will appeal to a broader audience than ever before.
However, promises of “significantly better battery life” rely heavily on ARM-native software rather than theemulation of traditional x86-64 apps. The pool ofWindows on Arm appssomewhat slowed in the past year or two, while a need for proper ARM64 support has become more significant as the Snapdragon X platform pushes a new generation of Windows computing. Thankfully, Opera’s developers have paired with Microsoft’s ‘App Assure’ team and Qualcomm Technologies to offer an AI-enhanced, native ARM variant of its popular web browser.
What is Opera Browser?
Opera is a web browser built onChromium, the open-source codebase behind popular options likeMicrosoft Edgeand Google Chrome. In the most straightforward terms, this means popular extensions and plugins are cross-compatible across all browsers, which prevents users from losing functionality when switching. However, while many third-party extensions help block intrusive and obnoxious advertisements around the web, Opera Browser has a free, built-in ad blocker alongside other enhancements like integration for popular chat apps like Whatsapp and Instagram.
How will Opera benefit from Snapdragon X?
As with most software upgrades, Opera promises increased performance but backs up its claims with in-house benchmark results. Testing its ARM-native build withSpeedometer, which uses a range of timed tasks to measure overall responsiveness, its developers reported “over double than those in the emulated version of the browser.” Qualcomm claims thatemulated x86-64 apps and games will run ‘just fine’under emulation on Snapdragon X Elite chips, though native ARM64 builds bring the absolute best performance possible with the longest portable battery life.
We look forward to continuing to partner with (Opera) on delivering cutting edge innovation that takes advantage of the new AI capabilities offered by Windows on Snapdragon.
As with many other prominent Windows apps, artificial intelligence (AI) features heavily in Opera’s plans for its ARM-native browser. The Snapdragon-optimized version supports physicalneural processing units (NPUs)to runlocal language models (LLMs)to provide faster text generation and power other AI-powered tasks, harnessing the45 TOPS of NPU performanceoffered by Snapdragon X platform. In short, Opera Browser will be able to locally process AI tasks on new ARM-powered Windows laptops, rather than relying entirely on the cloud, something Microsoft has directly assisted with its ‘App Assure’ team.
Where can I download Opera Browser for ARM?
This new ARM-native build of Opera Browser is available todownload via the early-access Opera Developer stream. It’s designed for Snapdragon-powered devices, with AI-centric features relying on the upcoming enhancements offered by the yet unreleasedSnapdragon X platform.
“The Snapdragon-optimized version of Opera will be first available on the developer stream of the browser, and will allow early adopters to try it out on the new Windows devices that come with this Arm-based processor.” — Opera
While hands-on experiences with Snapdragon X devices aren’t here yet, I do have previous-generation ARM-powered options like mysecond-hand Surface Pro X. The SQ1 chip inside is essentially a modified version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx, but its NPU is far less sophisticated than even the SQ3 sucessor, so it wouldn’t be entirely fair to judge this ARM-native version of Opera Browser based on performance alone. Nevertheless, it’s admirable to see Opera get ahead of the curve while we’re on the cusp of a massive resurgence inWindows on Arm laptops.
Ben is a Senior Editor at Windows Central, covering everything related to technology hardware and software. He regularly goes hands-on with the latest Windows laptops, components inside custom gaming desktops, and any accessory compatible with PC and Xbox. His lifelong obsession with dismantling gadgets to see how they work led him to pursue a career in tech-centric journalism after a decade of experience in electronics retail and tech support.
