Opera One, the latest version of the company’s browser infused with artificial intelligence (AI) features will soon make its way to the iOS devices in Europe, the company announced last week. The announcement came just a day after Apple revealed the changes it will make within iOS to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The changes will finally allow third-party browsers in the region to make the non-WebKit-based app available in the App Store. This has resulted in Opera announcing its redesigned browser with the inbuilt AI assistant Aria, Opera One for iPhone users in Europe.
Making the announcement, Jørgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera, said, “As the leading European browser developer, we embrace the changes introduced through the DMA, aimed at fostering competition and offering users a more diverse selection of browsers on iOS. We intend to deliver on this with the AI-centric Opera One for iOS.” While the company did not disclose a launch date, it said the browser will be available in the months to come. Notably, Apple has a deadline of March 6 to comply with the DMA.
The latest version of the Opera browser called Opera One was launched last year with a redesigned interface and AI features. The main addition was Aria, an AI chatbot similar to Copilot on Microsoft Edge, that sits on the side panel and can assist users by answering queries, generating text for essays and emails, writing code, preparing itineraries and more. Aria is powered by Opera’s native Composer AI engine. The chatbot is also connected to the internet and is capable of providing real-time information.
Apple allowing non-WebKit-based browsers on iOS in Europe is said to be the biggest catalyst behind Opera’s decision. Earlier, Apple required all third-party browsers to use a WebKit code-base, the browser engine behind Safari, for their iOS version of the app. To comply with DMA, Apple will no longer have this requirement from browsers in the region.
Opera also highlighted that the announced browser choice screen for iOS was another key factor for the company to bring its flagship browser to the iPhone. Unlike earlier, where users had to dig deep into the settings to find an option to change the default browser, the new change will let users see the option upfront.