Norway-based Opera has launched a new browser called Opera Air, which emphasizes mental well-being and mindfulness with features that include break reminders, breathing exercises, soundscapes, and binaural beats to enhance focus. The browser is available for free on Mac and Windows.
Features of Opera Air
Opera Air incorporates a semi-transparent design and a floating sidebar for its mindfulness tools. The Boosts feature plays a combination of music, ambient sounds, and binaural beats, where slightly different frequencies are transmitted to each ear, creating a perceived third frequency that may aid in relaxation or focus. Users can set soundscapes to play for a duration ranging from 15 minutes to indefinitely and can pause them from the sidebar at any time.
The break reminder tool appears as an icon composed of three lines in the sidebar, which gray out during work. Users can customize the duration of this indicator; once it is fully faded, it signals the need for a break. During the break, users can access guided breathing exercises, neck stretches, full body scans, and meditations lasting up to 15 minutes.
Additionally, the browser includes shortcuts to the Aria AI assistant, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Opera Air also features a built-in ad blocker and a free VPN, similar to the existing Opera browser and its gaming-focused counterpart, Opera GX.
Mindfulness tools
Opera has designed four break modes: breathing exercises, neck stretches, meditation, and full body scans. Breathing exercises and meditation focus on calming the user by lowering stress levels, while neck exercises provide relief to sore neck muscles. The full body scan involves directing attention to various body parts and sensations and can last from three to 15 minutes. Breaks can be initiated voluntarily or set through a timer.
For neck stretches, users have the option to enable their camera for guidance on posture and form. Currently, the browser offers guided exercises only in English, but Opera plans to add voiceovers in additional languages in the future.
The Boosts feature includes pre-set combinations of music, ambient sounds, and binaural beats. According to Mohamed Salah, Opera’s Senior Director of Product, the inclusion of binaural beats helps enhance focus by creating a “ghost” frequency effect in the brain. Users can modify the music, ambient sounds, frequency of binaural beats, and volume of each track, with the option to select how long they play, from 15 minutes to infinity.
When asked about the decision to develop a separate browser instead of integrating these tools into existing browsers, Salah explained that Opera intended to focus on mindfulness in a distinct product. He highlighted that while Opera One is tailored for productivity with features like split screen and tab islands, Opera Air aims to integrate mindfulness tools within a minimalistic design.
Opera recognizes the challenge of user adoption of Opera Air, as it may differ considerably from the more feature-rich Opera One and the gaming-focused Opera GX browsers. Despite the existence of various apps for break reminders and soundscapes on Mac and mobile devices, Opera’s goal is to deliver an all-in-one mindfulness solution for desktop users, capturing elements typically found in dedicated mindfulness applications.
Additionally, binaural beats are available as part of the Boosts, potentially enhancing creativity and relaxation. Opera claims that one of the Boosts may even assist users in recalling dreams.
According to Mohamed Salah, while the web offers beauty, it can also be chaotic. Opera is striving to implement science-backed methods to help users navigate online environments more effectively, paralleling the function of existing mindfulness applications like Headspace but within a frequently used browser context.
Featured image credit: Opera
