Opera's Android browser just got a major tab management upgrade

Opera’s Android browser now includes Tab Islands. This new feature not only makes it possible to group tabs together, but also allows you to search for open tabs, reopen recently closed tabs, or mute every tab you have open. 

It arrives with version 89 of the mobile browser and includes new tab gallery layouts, more customizations, and the introduction of Tab Islands. 

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According to Stefan Stjernelund, product manager for Opera for Android, “Many of our users love tabs and have been requesting new ways of working with them. As always, we’ve listened carefully and are following through today by releasing the most comprehensive tab management system of any mobile browser.”

Because Opera was the first early adopter of browser tabs in 1996, the company has plenty of experience with making tabs useful. According to the PR email I was sent by the company, it ran a study and found that more than 15% of users have at least 15 tabs open at any given time, while more than 25% of users keep more than 30 tabs at the ready. Because of this, Opera designed a comprehensive new system for mobile tab management, which they claim is the best tab management system on the market.

Thirty years of tab innovation

Opera has been making web browsers for 30 years, during which the question of how to organize different layers of information has always been subject to innovation. That’s why Opera was the first one to introduce tabs in the browser back in 1996, when it was called Multiple Document Interface. Later, in 2000, Opera introduced the Tabbed Document Interface, which is now known as tabs.

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The new mobile tab management feature isn’t just limited to Tab Islands, but also includes the ability to choose between different tab layouts, like carousel, grid, and list. The Tab Islands, however, are the big-ticket item in this update. With Tab Islands, you can manually group tabs together by long-pressing any open tab and then dragging it on top of another. Once a Tab Island is created, it can be renamed and moved within the new layout.

Also: Opera’s sidebar upgrade makes it easier to access your favorite apps – here’s how

Tab Islands are also automatically created when you long-press a link in a web page to open a new tab, so the tab is grouped contextually. With this feature, you can open multiple tabs without creating unwanted clutter.

You can also now mute specific tabs, restore recently closed tabs, and search for any tab within the gallery.

The new version of Opera Mobile is now available on the Google Play Store.

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