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Opera is making good progress with its Android-based data compression service that allows users to save data when browsing the internet and using apps. In the latest update, Opera Max has gained compatibility with five music streaming services, with more to come in the following months.
This new feature of Opera Max can save users up to half the data they would normally consume by listening to music on YouTube Music, Pandora, Slacker, Gaana, and Saavn. The last two are music services from India, a fast growing market where data connectivity remains spotty and expensive.
Opera Max uses a technology called Rocket Optimizer, which converts MP3- and MP4-based streams to AAC+, a codec that provides a similar quality at lower bitrates. In theory, users shouldn’t hear a major difference between the normal and compressed streams.
Opera says that using a music streaming service for nine hours eats away 1GB of data, so even for casual listeners, using Opera Max should provide a sizeable saving at the end of the month.
From Opera’s press release, it appears that there shouldn’t be any major impediments in adding support for more music services. Spotify and Google Play Music are probably the biggest candidates, though Apple can claim a spot as well, now that it launched its Music app on Android.
Opera Max also supports compression of video streams from YouTube and Netflix. The service acts as a server that intercepts unencrypted data traffic, routing it through Opera’s servers where bandwidth-saving compression is applied to images and video, along with website loading optimizations.
With 100 million installs projected by the end of 2016, Opera Max is turning out to be a real success for Opera. In its traditional business – web browsers – the Scandinavian company is holding on to just 1.4% of the market. That’s compared to Google Chrome’s 55.8% share. On a related note, Google is offering its own data compression service, though Opera Max is more feature-rich.
Opera Max is available for free in the Play
http://www.androidauthority.com/opera-max-music-streaming-compression-657269/
This new feature of Opera Max can save users up to half the data they would normally consume by listening to music on YouTube Music, Pandora, Slacker, Gaana, and Saavn. The last two are music services from India, a fast growing market where data connectivity remains spotty and expensive.
Opera Max uses a technology called Rocket Optimizer, which converts MP3- and MP4-based streams to AAC+, a codec that provides a similar quality at lower bitrates. In theory, users shouldn’t hear a major difference between the normal and compressed streams.
Opera says that using a music streaming service for nine hours eats away 1GB of data, so even for casual listeners, using Opera Max should provide a sizeable saving at the end of the month.
From Opera’s press release, it appears that there shouldn’t be any major impediments in adding support for more music services. Spotify and Google Play Music are probably the biggest candidates, though Apple can claim a spot as well, now that it launched its Music app on Android.
Opera Max also supports compression of video streams from YouTube and Netflix. The service acts as a server that intercepts unencrypted data traffic, routing it through Opera’s servers where bandwidth-saving compression is applied to images and video, along with website loading optimizations.
With 100 million installs projected by the end of 2016, Opera Max is turning out to be a real success for Opera. In its traditional business – web browsers – the Scandinavian company is holding on to just 1.4% of the market. That’s compared to Google Chrome’s 55.8% share. On a related note, Google is offering its own data compression service, though Opera Max is more feature-rich.
Opera Max is available for free in the Play
http://www.androidauthority.com/opera-max-music-streaming-compression-657269/
