This New Browser Wants To Take The Doom Out Of Doomscrolling
TL;DR
- Opera has launched Opera Air, a browser designed with built-in mindfulness tools like meditation, breathing exercises, and binaural beats.
- The browser aims to reduce stress and improve focus while browsing. It features a minimalist Scandinavian design and customizable relaxation features.
- Opera Air is currently only available for Windows.
It sometimes feels like the internet and social media mainly exist to make us angrier, but one company is aiming to do just the opposite. Opera just launched the Opera Air, boldly claiming that this new browser can “actively improve your wellbeing” as you surf the web.
The browser is designed not just for performance but also for mindfulness. Announced in a press release on Tuesday, It introduces built-in features like meditation, breathing exercises, and binaural beats to help users manage stress while they browse. “The web is beautiful, but it can be chaotic and overwhelming. We decided to look at science-backed ways to help our users navigate it in a way that makes them feel and function better,” said Mohamed Salah, Opera’s Senior Director of Product.
The browser features a minimalist Scandinavian design with a frosted glass UI, aiming to reinforce a sense of calm. It also includes mindfulness tools that let users step away from the chaos and refocus without leaving their workspace.
Opera Air’s key features include Take a Break, which offers guided breathing exercises, meditation sessions, and full-body scans ranging from 3 to 15 minutes. Another feature is Boosts, which claims to use binaural beats to influence brainwave activity and improve focus, relaxation, or creativity. Options include Deep Relaxation, Energized Focus, and even a mode designed to help recall dreams. Users can customize background music, nature sounds, and session length.
The features work without interrupting the browsing experience. For instance, users can continue reading or working while listening to a Focused Calm Boost, which plays Alpha 8Hz beats to promote concentration.
So far, the Opera Air browser is only available for Windows. Whether it’s effective in reducing your stress levels while you doomscroll or argue with strangers on the internet remains to be seen.
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