I've been using Opera since around 1998...I was a Netscape user prior but at that time I had an older PC (in college so I could only get the basics), I found a suggestion to use Opera as Netscape was getting a little 'thirsty' on the resources and Opera was fast and efficient.
The other day I was updated (I closed the browser but didn't notice the update looming)...the next day when I went online for work, I got this new splash screen animation, and a horrible new look and layout. I had had it all tweaked the way that I liked it for my needs...all sorts of settings that had tailored it to my personal use (another reason that I had originally switched). I had noticed many updates ago Opera was getting 'thirsty' with more features (that I've never needed anyway) and it had slowed some, but my PC has always had enough grunt to deal with it so it didn't bother me.
.....however, the new look is.....well I don't know what they are going for as the colours are all over the place as is all the stuff that I had customized (muscle memory)...some of these new features make the browser more of a pig (the stupid splash screen really serves no purpose and slows the whole lot down).
The new One looks a little childish in style, colours and as I said before stuff just seems to be all over the place. Such a drastic change should have an option (maybe it's there and I missed it, but I was looking)-like other porgrams that make a big leap-the option for a 'classic' mode. This would maintain the familiar look and feel and mix in new features/function, but not at the expense of the experience.
It feels like the group over at Opera thought it all looked cool, but (as most companies do anymore) didn't check with the user say by offering a limited time preview, or something along those lines. I would have given it a shot, but I would have had the option to click a button to revert it all back.
I welcome change to most things, but this just seems like a 'shoot first and ask questions later' sort of thing.
I still have it installed in the event they re-work it (I mean it's a browser, not an OS...it doesn't need as much as it has), however I have mograted everything over to Edge (feels more like Opera used to.
I will keep checking back, as I have been with it a long time...so I'll give them a chance.
...I will note one thing with Edge that was keeping me from it was the lack of a Speed Dial, but after a quick search in the 'Extensions' I found one that was even better than the native feature in Opera. I use my laptop at home as well as work, and the SD extension allows for (with a quick selection from a drop down menu on the SD home page) to select from different SD's. So I have a Work Speed Dial, and a personal Speed Dial...so I just imported the bookmarks from a personal PC and one from my work laptop and now I have a quick to one of each. This is nice so you done have one huge SD listing like I used to have in Opera. There may have been a way to do this in Opera, but if so, it wasn't this slick. I don't recall the extension, but it had threw purple/blueish lines as an icon I believe.