Last year, Opera released the Touch browser which they marketed as a great one-handed browser. We looked at Touch briefly after it’s release. Having used it as my backup browser since it’s launch I go back to the browser not because it’s great for single-handed use but actually because it allows me to easily share links, notes, and even files between my PC and my phone.
Do you send emails or messages to yourself so you won’t forget something cool you found online? With Flow you can share and keep links, images, videos and notes across your devices. It’s a seamless connection between your phone and your personal computer.
Opera’s description of flow
For this feature to be relevant to you, you’ll have to install the Opera Browser and that might be too much to ask. I already use that browser on a daily basis and I’ve stopped using Chrome on desktop – RAM, lack of a VPN and an uninspiring interface can do that to you.
Anyway, I’ve found myself using Opera Touch’s Flow primarily for sharing links between my browser and my phone or vice-versa. Sometimes I want to read something on my PC (usually work-related) but I’ve come across it on my phone, I just share it using flow and it’s instantly available on my PC.
Everything you send using flow is encrypted which means no one can look into the files you share across devices.
Prior to stumbling upon Flow’s convenience, I used to use Pushbullet for such activities and whilst it does pretty much the same thing as Flow (and also shows notifications from your phone) it didn’t feel as intuitive and if you’re not careful the notifications from Pushbullet can start to feel spammy as all of your notifications come to your PC.
As a browser, I’m less excited by Flow and to be honest it’s my secondary mobile browser behind Chrome. I know that’s a bit weird that on PC I’m team Opera whilst on mobile, I’m team Chrome, but it’s simply because I don’t need much from my mobile browser, except something that opens webpages.
Not needing much means extra features such as built-in ad-blocking and cryptomining protection don’t mean much to me, unfortunately. What I will say however is that the one-handed use focus isn’t gimmicky and actually works as advertised. Changing tabs from the bottom of your screen is more convenient than reaching out to Chrome’s tabs button in the right-hand corner of your screen. You can also swipe between Flow, Webpages and your history which means less button-pressing and digging through menus to find convenient features.
If you already use Opera’s desktop browser or you’re willing to switch to it then I definitely recommend that you check out Opera Touch on mobile just for the Flow experience.
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