Opera Coast

Years ago, Opera Mini was the new kid on the block in the mobile browser space. It was fast, efficient and powerful but suffered from compatibility issues at times. Then, all of a sudden, with the increased appeal of Google Chrome and Safari on iOS, it slowly fell by the wayside. In 2014, Opera's developers released a new browser called Coast. So, what makes Coast different? The interface is a gesture-based, distraction free experience.  There's no title bar and very few buttons, which puts the content front and center. The Home Screen consists of a grid of icons that represent your Favorites. Tap one and that site loads. At the bottom are three icons. The left-most icon will present options to share the current page, the middle icon will take you back to the Home Screen and the right-most icon will pop-up a card view of your open web sites. Want to switch sites? Tap the appropriate card. Swipe up on a card to close that site. It's works just like the iOS function to kill an app. To search or type in a URL, you simply pull down from the top from the Home Screen, like the search function in iOS. If you're familiar with these features in iOS, then you'll be right at home using Opera Coast. I don't know how I've missed discovering this app earlier but I'm glad to have found it now. Coast won't replace Safari or Chrome but will join them instead as another good browser alternative for my iPhone.