Opera 56 for Android launches with improved reader mode

[harlan4096]

Opera Software released Opera 56 for Android today; the new version of the mobile browser comes with reader mode improvements, configurable address bar buttons, and tab restoration improvements.

The update is already available and should be pushed to Android devices automatically that have automatic updates enabled. New users can download the web browser from Google Play by following this link.

Opera 56 for Android

Opera Software highlights three main features that are new or improved in the release in the official blog post on the Opera website.

The second feature sounds the most interesting to me so lets start with that. Opera users who run the browser on Android may set a default address bar action button in the new release. The default button is Reader Mode while Reload has been moved to the menu.

The company notes that reloading is till possible by swiping down from the top of the web page. Opera users who prefer Reload to be displayed in the address bar, or another action button, can make that happen in the new release.

Here is how that is done:

1. Tap on the Menu button and select Settings.

2. Locate and activate Appearance under Browser.

3. Scroll down on the page that opens and activate "shortcut in address bar".

4. Select one of the available shortcuts to make it the default. Available are, among others, Reader Mode, Reload, Translate, Share, Find in Page, Save as PDf, or Add to bookmarks.

Note that you can add only one shortcut to the address bar using the feature and that you may activate some of the other features using the menu.

The second improvement on Opera 56 for Android, the one that Opera put first, affects the built-in Reader Mode. Reader Mode improves readability by turning convoluted web pages into basic pages that focus on text content.

In Opera 56, Reader Mode is available directly from the address bar if the browser detects an article that would benefit from it. The Wikipedia example above highlights how an article on Wikipedia looks like when it is displayed in Reader Mode.

I also tried this on Ghacks but the feature does not work on this site at all. If you display the mobile site, no Reader Mode icon is shown. If you load the desktop site instead, the Reader Mode icon is displayed but activating it displays only the first two paragraphs of the article.

The third and final feature that Opera Software highlights in the new mobile release improves the resurrection of closed tabs. The list of closed tabs is displayed in chronological order now in the browser. Previously, only the option to restore the last tab that was closed was available which was not very user friendly.

Now You: Which mobile browser do you use?
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