Hello,

The Android operating system has always thrived on its customizability. From personalized launchers to a myriad of app choices, Android users can make their phones look and work the way they want. Now, in accord with a ruling last year by the European Commission, Google Play will be showing people in Europe the new ballot screens when accessing the Google Play Store, giving them a choice when choosing their browsers.

This is great news as it means people are no longer limited to the browsers that come with their phones. This is also a major shift for the browser industry as it increases competition among browser developers, which will lead to the development of better products.

Why you should try Opera

After Google releases an update, you’ll see the browser ballot the next time you open Google Play. To try Opera, simply select it from the browser ballot screen. If you don’t see Opera in the ballot, you can always install it from Google Play or directly from Opera.com.

The Opera browser

Opera actually has two major Android browsers, both widely used in Europe. Opera for Android is a powerful browser that includes a long list of useful features to make your browsing experience safer and faster. Built on a performance-tuned version of Chromium, it is a new standard in browsing. It includes a free VPN that helps increase your privacy and security when you are browsing. Opera’s ad blocker gives you more control over intrusive advertising and protection against malicious cryptocurrency mining while allowing you to whitelist sites that you want to support.

Opera for Android also includes a native crypto wallet that allows you to store cryptocurrencies, make peer to peer transactions through the blockchain, and store/share collectibles available on decentralized apps (Dapps). Its user-friendly interface makes it super easy for you to start using without any complicated setups. You can also block annoying cookie dialog boxes automatically and easily adjust text sizes, even on websites not optimized for mobile users.

Opera Touch

Opera Touch is our award-winning browser optimized for smartphones with large displays. We’ve designed it specifically for easy one-handed use. In 2018, Opera Touch won the coveted Red Dot award for the design quality and creativity of its user interface. This year, it won an iF gold award and became the best designed mobile app. According to the iF jury,

“The Opera Touch interface allows users a much more efficient, faster and even ergonomic browsing experience. The instant accessibility and responsiveness is striking. Spot on for the user’s thumb!”

With Opera Touch, you can also choose from eleven different default search engines. It shares many of the great features in Opera for Android, including Opera’s ad blocker and the cookie dialog blocker. For Android devices of all sizes, Opera has you covered.

Choosing the right search engine

Google is also introducing a ballot screen for search engines. As with the browser ballot, the search-engine ballot will include a randomized list of five search engines selected from installed apps as well as other popular options in your country.

Currently, our browsers already give you a choice when deciding which search engine to use. To do this you just need to go to the settings of the browser and tap on the search engine option. In the Opera browser you can choose between eight different search engines, whereas in Opera Touch you have more than ten search engines to choose from including Yandex, DuckDuckGo, Amazon and Qwant.

Respecting user choice

Users have always had choices with Android. With the new browser ballot for Europe, Google Play makes those choices more obvious, so now is a great time to explore what Opera can do for you. If you need a built-in VPN and Web 3.0 features, try Opera for Android. If you have a large smartphone, try the award-winning one-handed user interface of Opera Touch. Either way, Opera has you covered. Start your new browsing experience today.

newsOpera for Android

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