I've been using the Opera GX browser for a few weeks and managed to convince some friends to do the same. I'm enjoying the software and had some feedback for fixes and improvements I would like to share. In no way do I expect a reply but I would like to offer my thoughts and opinions as I’d like to see this software developed for years to come.
Bug Fixes
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Upon the installation setup walkthrough of Opera GX when clicking “block trackers” it restarts the setup process.
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“Hardware acceleration” actually made my browser slower with it being turned on.
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Speed Dial is extremely slow on start-up and takes a long time to show your bookmarks.
(I did some research on forums and it seems other people are having this issue too. Also the two friends I had install opera had the same problem)
- GX corner is also quite slow Especially with a animated wallpaper making it near unusable
(a note - my pc is very upgraded for composting workflows so performance is no issue here)
Improvements/Suggestions
I understand the target audience is “gamers” for this software. Gamers are the worst critics more so than in film, and community and development teams listening to them is of huge importance to them.
One thing I know “gamers” like is customization. Have a more customizable array of settings, a big selling point of opera is the customization so why stop here? Add more features like..
- Ability to have sidebar on the right hand side
(I understand this may be a bit tricky with the minimize and exit buttons on the top right but I believe it can be done)
- Ability to change individual sidebar icons/colours
- Ability to move sidebar icons in different places.
- Sidebar application overlay.
(You can pin the sidebar which is nice, however it moves your window as well. Having another button next to it like a circle to represent “overlay” will keep it overlaying your tabs instead of closing when clicking again.)
- Collaborative pin boards.
( I believe this would be a great idea having multiple people share a pin board instead of just reacting but rather see realtime when someone updates. Maybe even a chat bar down the bottom? I believe this could compete with the likes of google docs/workspaces)
- Workspaces that have independent bookmarks / themes or backgrounds
(This would be really handy. How I currently have it setup is I have a workspace for “personal use” and one for “Work”. Having bookmarks associated with the speed dial in my personal like “Facebook” , “Reddit” and in my work workspace replacing that with emails and cg stuff would be absolutely fantastic.)
- Ability to export your opera setup and share it as a template with someone.
- Upload a custom bookmark image.
(I really like how the bookmarks were done! Great job! The fact you can zoom around and snap it as a thumbnail is great. However some sites just aren't that versatile or aesthetically pleasing. Having the ability to upload custom thumbnails would be really useful for organized people.)
- Add Steam overlay to the sidebar
(As stated previously I understand the target audience is gamers. So it makes sense to have a steam overlay.)
- Widgets in speed dial screen
( having features like a clock, calendar, notes etc would be a great bonus!)
- I think a really good selling feature to add would be the ability to almost have a mini profile or something similar for your opera sync. Here you can link your Twitch, Steam , Epic Games account etc and have followers like your friends for example. Maybe it can grab data from steam to show off your in game achievements. Maybe this could be all connected in the GX corner?
- Opera Sync really needs to come to IOS devices. I have an iPad and iPhone and would use it there if I could access my bookmarks.
Thank you for reading,