So similar and so different ...

I don’t know how abroad, but at Russian meetings with users in response to the question “Do you know that Opera Mini and Opera Mobile are not the same thing?” Friendly laughter was always heard. And this is understandable: only our children, with their innate interest in everything technically complex, in the period of knowledge of the world, make out toys to see what is inside. This harmless habit is preserved in the future - only when we become more mature we try to study equipment and software in such a way so that it still works, as before. That is why the difference between Opera Mini and Opera Mobile all those who are interested have long understood and made their choice in favor of one or another version, and sometimes working in both in turn, depending on the situation.

Meanwhile, as it turned out, someone still shirked as a child from the decompilation of the winding-up machines and the preparation of talking bears - such people now, without being embarrassed by their aimlessly lived childhood, ask strange questions that have, in the opinion of others, the obvious answers. We decided to remain in the position of humanism and still explain - what is the difference between such seemingly twins as Mini and Mobile.

So let's start with the general.
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1. Both browsers are built on the same core of Opera Presto, moreover - the desktop version is based on the same core.

2. Both mobile browsers have a single cross-platform interface - see the figure at the beginning of the article (which, apparently, is most often confusing).

3. Both browsers are equipped with the function of accelerating the loading of pages.

There is, of course, a huge set of other "coincidences", but all of them somehow flow from the above points. Now, what's the difference then?

1. Kernel Opera Presto. In the case of the Mobile version, it works directly on the phone, being part of the browser (hence the size of the installation package). The Mini is a little different: the kernel for this browser works separately, physically being on a special proxy server. On the phone - only some semblance of a thin client with an interface.

2. Derived from point 1. In the case of Opera Mobile, all web pages are processed directly on the phone (where, in fact, the browser core works), with all the resulting requirements for hardware resources (albeit, excluding Turbo mode - but more on that below). The pages for Opera Mini are processed on a special proxy server (again, where the browser core lives), and the compressed data, reformatted to the phone screen and using the OBML markup language, is sent to the browser. Thus, traffic and hardware requirements are minimal.

Now you can take a closer look at traffic compression technologies used in Opera Mini and Opera Mobile. Despite their similarity, there is a slight difference between them.

The data compression mode in Opera Mini is always on (in fact, nothing would have worked without it) and absolutely all traffic goes through the Opera Mini proxy servers (except for the cases described below). In Opera Mobile, this feature is turned on as desired and is called Opera Turbo - as the name implies, this is absolutely the same technology as in the desktop version of the browser. But due to the fact that, in the case of Opera Mobile, the kernel still works on the phone, the traffic compression feature does not interfere with JavaScript, which allows you to work with the Mobile version in popular web services. Opera Mini has some limitations in this regard, especially when it comes to interactive services built on AJAX.

Security.

Yes, this is our fad, obsession, if you like. The forums and blogs have repeatedly raised the issue that, they say, what kind of security can we talk about if all the data for Opera Mini and for Opera Mobile (in Turbo mode) pass through the servers of Opera Software. “AAAA !!! Opera reads my passwords !!! We will all die !!! ”- this is a brief summary of the arguments of conspiracy theorists. In response, I can report the following.

Probably, we would gladly use your passwords / logins for blogs and forums, or even better - they would snitch a couple of hundred bucks from your bank account, but you will immediately guess about it ... We have been supporting the image of an honest company for over 15 years it's a shame to lose the trust of millions of users and fall in the eyes of the world community, having burned hundreds of bucks from a simple user stealing Now, if Bill Gates used Opera Mini when working with a bank account - then, probably, it would make sense to sort out something like that, although ... It is unlikely that he will decide on this. Yes, and we, too, are unlikely to decide to offend him - in this case, he will act as the user, our user.

No, after all, the image is more expensive. Therefore, in Opera Mini, that in Turbo mode on Opera Mobile (and in the desktop version), as soon as the user makes a request to open protected pages, the data exchange with which is encrypted, Opera servers automatically allow such traffic directly between the user's browser and the online service. As proof of the reliability of this way of working with user data, you can recall cases where attackers managed to steal personal data from Opera Mini owners. Remember? So I do not remember a single one. Because they were not there.

In general, talking about the similarities and differences between Opera Mini and Opera Mobile can be a long time. I can only add that over time, between all Opera browsers there will be less and less differences and more and more similarities. One of our main tasks is to provide users with different devices, both desktop and handheld, with exactly the same and equivalent way of working on the Internet, regardless of the browser version used. And I hope you could appreciate it.

Used materials official blogs Opera Software

Choosing a Mini or Mobile