Opera Mini’s Video Boost slashes buffer times

Opera Mini is positioning itself to be the ultimate choice for any user looking to streamline their browsing experience while minimizing data consumption. The lightweight browser is ever on the prowl to bring its users new features, and this latest update brings some pretty awesome stuff to your fingertips. Our favorite is the Video Boost feature, which Opera claims reduces the size of video data. Not only does this make for faster streaming with less buffering, but it also preserves precious data while on mobile networks.

It’s a feature that seems a bit reminiscent of T-Mobile’s Binge On video “optimization” capability, which reduces video quality to minimize data usage. Although you may take a slight knock to quality using Video Boost on Opera Mini, for many users, this is worth it while they’re on the go and aren’t exactly looking for a full cinema experience. You can toggle Video Boost on a whim by accessing the apps settings and then going to savings summary. Check Video Boost for faster video, uncheck it for better quality. The app even keeps track of how many video’s it has optimized for you.

That’s not all users are getting with this update. High-savings mode lets Opera Mini manage data compression on the fly. If you’re on a wifi network, then hey, no reason to optimize data. The browser will give you a full internet experience. Swapping to cellular data? Alright then, time to be frugal. You can even force high savings mode for wifi as well if you’re on a particularly crowded hotspot.

If you’re uploading images for whatever reason, Opera Mini now lets you shrink those puppies down so that you’re not uploading massive images on a sketchy network. Also, a new “thumbscroller” feature makes navigating long articles on a tiny screen a breeze.

Tap the button below to snatch up the latest version of Opera Mini. If you’re a regular user of the browser, let us know what your general experience with it has been. You might just convince somebody in the comments to make the swap from their current favorite browser.