Opera offers a browser so dynamic it will make your friends on Chrome jealous

I’m not going to lie to you: I’m passionate about aesthetics. I don’t want something I stare at for hours to seem plain, average, or boring. If I’m going to use software all day, I want it to look good – and even reflect a little bit of my personality.

This is one of the many reasons I chose the Linux operating system (because I can make it look the way I want).

But what about browsers?

Also: I’ve been using Linux for 30 years. Here are 5 reasons why I will never switch to Windows or MacOS

With browsers like Firefox, you can add themes the same way you add extensions. But these themes are rather flat and not really inspiring.

The developers of the Opera browser are preparing something very special, called dynamic themes. You’re probably familiar with the term “dynamic” as it applies to the desktop, thanks to things like macOS’ dynamic wallpaper. Anything “dynamic” should add a bit of excitement or sparkle to the software you’re using. What Opera has in store for us certainly does that.

A few things to note: Currently, dynamic themes are only available in the development version of Opera; you can install and use the development version alongside the standard version (that’s what I do).

Additionally, the functionality is not quite the same across all platforms and it is not (yet) available for mobile editing. For example, dynamic themes on the MacOS version of Opera Developer are animated but on the Linux desktop, they are not. I suspect the animated option will come to the Linux version soon, because if you look at the theme gallery on MacOS versus Linux, some themes marked “Coming Soon” on Linux are all available on MacOS.

That’s pretty typical.

So how do you use Opera’s dynamic themes? Let me show you.

How to add a dynamic theme

What you will need: The only thing you will need is Opera Developer installed on your desktop.

Also: I tested Opera’s new Gemini-based AI capabilities and came away impressed.

Also: I’ve been using Linux for 30 years. Here are 5 reasons why I will never switch to Windows or MacOS

On MacOS, you can also enable/disable browser sounds, keyboard sounds, and animations.

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Once the theme is perfect, click Set Theme and you’re done. At this point, you can enjoy this dynamic new theme and make your friends and family jealous enough that they too want to upgrade to the Opera browser.