Opera’s Battery Saver mode is yet another reason why you should switch to this fantastic browser

Opera isn’t perfect.

But, in my book, it’s closer than most browsers. Yes, I get the regular crashes when I try to load Google Calendar but other than that, Opera is fairly smooth sailing. 

Recently, I discovered yet another new piece of the browser puzzle, in the form of a small battery icon found in the Opera toolbar. That icon is for the Battery Saver, a new feature that pulls some interesting little tricks behind the scenes.

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What does Battery Saver do?

The Opera Battery saver does the following things:

• Reduces activity in background tabs
• Tweaks video-playback parameters
• Reschedules JavaScript timers
• Pauses plug-ins
• Stops animations

Those five items go a long way to saving your battery, especially when your web browser handles the majority of your workload. This is especially true when every little drop of power is crucial to getting you through the day.

Understand that the Battery Saver icon only appears when your laptop is unplugged. The second you plug it in, the icon disappears. Why? Because when you unplug your laptop (and you have Opera open), the Battery Saver mode automatically kicks in. It doesn’t matter if your battery is at 100% or 1%, Battery Saver mode will be enabled the second you unplug the laptop.

However, even with the icon appearing in your browser, it doesn’t mean Battery Saver mode is on. If the battery icon is black, the mode is off. If the battery is blue, the mode is on. Fortunately, the developers have made it such that you can configure a few parameters to tell Opera when to automatically switch on Battery Saver mode. 

Let’s do just that.

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How to configure Opera’s Battery Saver mode

What you’ll need: The only thing you’ll need for this is an updated version of Opera installed on a laptop. That’s it. Let’s save some battery.

Once you’ve taken care of that, close the settings window and you’re done. Opera’s Battery Saver mode will automatically kick in at the point you’ve configured and will help you make it to either the end of the day or until you can reach a plug. 

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When Opera’s Battery Saver mode is on, if you click the icon it will display approximately how much time you have remaining with the help of Opera. 

If you’ve been looking for yet another reason to switch to the Opera browser (and you depend on a laptop), this new feature might be just the push you need to make it so.