It’s called Petey – AI Assistant and it was created by developer Hidde van de Ploeg (listed as Modum B.V. on the App Store). Originally, it was known as watchGPT, but due to trademarking issues with the acronym “GPT”, the name had to be changed. Looking at a demo video posted by the developer on Twitter, Petey functions similarly to Siri. You open the app, ask it a question and it answers in just a few seconds via Text to Speech. To continue an inquiry, you swipe down on the watch face, then tap Reply. Unlike Apple’s own Siri, Petey as an assistant can provide fairly complex answers like giving steps on how to catch a fish.
One of the problems with voice assistants like Siri is that they are fairly rigid in what they can do. You have to ask those AIs specific questions in a certain manner to get a response. ChatGPT, on the other hand, is more flexible in what it can do, from writing business letters to even drafting Christmas stories. It’s hard to say exactly how capable Petey is, but at the very least, it appears you won’t have to struggle with it as much.
A work in progress
Petey is a work in progress as new features are constantly being added. Right now you have a handful to work with. For starters, you can share the responses with other people “via text, email, or social media” although the App Store listing doesn’t specify which ones.
The app can be set as a complication on the Apple Watch’s face for quick access. Support for multiple languages is growing as well, bringing the total to 14. Petey now supports German, Italian, and Japanese, just to name a few. Also if you prefer, Petey comes with a tiny, on-screen keyboard so you can type in your questions. You’re probably better off using your voice.
As for future updates, there are several things in the works. From what is known, van der Ploeg is working on adding a History tool so you can go back to a previous question, making vocal inputs the default setting, and improving the app’s overall performance so you can ask it multiple questions.
There are a couple of caveats, however. One: the app isn’t free as you’ll have to purchase it for $ 4.99 (about £4, over $ 7 AUD, and almost €5) on the App Store. To use Petey, you must have an Apple Watch running on watchOS 9 or up. So make sure you update your device if you haven't already. We should mention the software does not collect user data so rest assured, your privacy is safe.
Users with an Android smartwatch will be out of luck, unfortunately. When asked about a potential Android version, van der Ploeg said there won't be one as his “skillset wouldn't allow [for] that”.
Apple’s iOS has come a long way from its iPhoneOS starting point, and all of the best iPhones have built on the operating system’s initial promise. Steve Jobs demonstrated the power of the iPhone in 2007 with a huge on-stage Starbucks order, and the platform has grown year after year with each update adding new features.
Multitasking, the notification and Control Center, and even the App Store, were all added to the iPhone after its first iteration, and that rapid pace of innovation can make it hard to keep up with new features.
With that in mind, we’ve put together this list of useful features you may have missed. Some are accessibility options, some need to be enabled, and others are just waiting to be used. All of them, though, will make your iPhone experience better.
1. Use a cursor to select text
(Image credit: Apple / TechRadar)
Texting is a way of life, but it’s still surprisingly cumbersome even at the best of times. If you’ve ever had an errant word added by autocorrect but not spotted it until you’ve written a few dozen words more, this tip is for you.
Sure, you can hold your finger to the text to jump to it, but this can occasionally lead to highlighting an entire word or sentence. For more granular control, we’d recommend the following:
Hold your finger or thumb at the bottom of your screen, underneath the keyboard.
This will grey out the keyboard, and turn it into a trackpad until you raise your finger or thumb.
Hey presto, easy text selection!
2. Create text snippets
(Image credit: Apple / TechRadar)
Text snippets are popular for macOS power users, but you can achieve the same result with your iPhone. Better yet, it doesn’t require any third-party software.
Text snippets are ideal shortcuts for copying in certain phrases you’ve pre-registered. If you’re dealing with a client via iMessage, for example, you may want to send a standardized response. With text replacement, you can create a block of text to be posted whenever you type a phrase.
Open Settings, then head to General, then Keyboard.
Pick Text Replacement and you’ll be able to create new replacements, and the words required to trigger them.
In our example, you can see that typing 'omw' brings up 'On my way!', but there are plenty of places where this would be useful. You can also set emoji to appear when you type, which feels pleasantly nostalgic in a way you just don’t get from the emoji picker.
3. Enable the scientific calculator
(Image credit: Apple / TechRadar)
The iPad may not feature a calculator, but the iPhone does. The trouble is, it can feel a tad limiting outside of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division – at least until you find a new perspective.
Turning your iPhone to the side with the calculator app open will enable the scientific calculator. This adds brackets, square roots, cos/sin/tan options, and the ever-handy π command, among plenty of others.
4. Enable an additional ‘button’
(Image credit: Apple / TechRadar)
While intended as an accessibility feature, the iPhone’s ‘back tap’ button is handy for power users looking for additional input for their device.
Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Touch.
Select Back Tap and you’ll be presented with plenty of options.
You can use this in a number of ways, such as triggering the App Switcher, snapping a quick screenshot, or opening Spotlight search from anywhere on your device. There are also double and triple tap options, meaning you can set multiple functions for it.
5. Use your camera’s 'Burst Mode'
(Image credit: Apple / TechRadar)
Your iPhone’s camera is plenty powerful enough, but there’s one trick you may have missed: Burst Mode. Burst mode, as the name suggests, takes a series of rapid-fire images in one press which means your iPhone can capture a series of action shots.
It’s ideal for pets and excitable toddlers, letting you go back and look at your pictures after the event and pick out the best ones. It’s easy to access, too. Just slide the Shutter button (the one you use to take photos) to the left when you’re in the Camera app.
You can also head into Settings, then Camera, and toggle Use Volume Up for Burst to allow your volume rocker to trigger Burst mode – just hold it when you’re taking an image.
6. Scan documents using the camera
Your iPhone’s camera can double as a very respectable document scanner, and while Live Text means you can extract text from images, it’s entirely possible to digitize an entire document. Because it’s buried in the Notes app, though, you may not have spotted how to do it.
Open Notes, then tap the camera icon, then Scan Documents.
Highlight your document and it should automatically save. You can also manually take a scan with the shutter button.
Once the scan is saved, you can sign it, too, or just share it via any email or messaging app. It’s not got the same level of quality as a bespoke scanner, but it’s not far off, and will certainly do in a pinch.
One final camera trick, which is a little different. As an accessibility feature, you can trigger your iPhone’s camera flash to go off when you receive a notification, providing a more visual way of knowing someone is calling or messaging.
Head into Settings, then Accessibility.
In the Audio/Visual section there’s an option for ‘LED Flash for Alerts’.
You can also trigger it to only work when your phone is on silent, which is ideal if you’d prefer your phone not to vibrate on a desk.
8. Master Control Center
(Image credit: Apple / TechRadar)
Introduced as part of iOS 7 all the way back in 2013, Control Center has moved from the bottom of the screen to the top as the years have gone by, and it has a lot more utility than you may be aware of.
While Apple doesn’t offer Force Touch these days, you can long-press on Control Center icons to get additional options.
Through this, you can enable Spatial Audio with compatible earphones, pick a Focus mode, get a better look at what’s playing on your audio app, or even go two layers deep – the quadrant with Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile signal can be expanded to allow you to easily select a Wi-Fi access point, for example.
9. Recognize any song with Shazam in the Control Center
(Image credit: Apple / TechRadar)
Remember Shazam? The music recognition service was purchased by Apple in 2018 and remains a great way to identify whatever song is playing – whether you’re in a store, at a party, or just missed the name on the radio.
While Shazam has an app, you can also add it to your iPhone’s Control Center for easy access.
Open Settings, then enter Control Center and tap the Plus button next to Music Recognition to add it.
Now, whenever you hear a great song playing, you can pull down from Control Center and hit the Shazam icon to find out what’s playing. If you’re on Apple Music, it’ll even give you the option to add the track to your library.
Google Sheets is looking to help spreadsheet users everywhere with the launch of a new tool that will let you write formulas faster and better.
The company has launched “intelligent corrections” for formulas in Google Sheets, context-aware fixes that it says help you improve and troubleshoot many different kinds of formulas.
“Now, you can write formulas faster and with higher confidence with formula corrections,” the company wrote in a Google Workspace blog post announcing the news.
Google Sheets formulas
Going forward, when writing a formula into Sheets, the new feature will analyze it and see if any improvements could be made. If so, a suggestion box will appear with details on a new version that can replace the current formula, including the ability to accept or reject it.
Google says the new addition can help with a number of common formula issues, including VLOOKUP errors, missing cells in range input, and locking ranges when applying formulas across cells.
The new feature is rolling out now, and will be enabled by default for all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, and users with personal Google Accounts. It can be disabled if it proves too much of a hindrance, by going to Tools > Enable formula corrections or from the three-dot menu of the suggestion dialog box.
The announcement follows a similar update in August 2021 which saw Google Sheets introduce intelligent formula suggestions, with the program able to offer ideas based on the data in question and the user’s initial input.
Google said that the new formula suggestions will make it easier to write new formulas accurately and help make data analysis quicker and easier.
Microsoft is preparing to roll out an update for its office software suite that resolves a small but frustrating issue.
As explained in the latest addition to the Microsoft 365 product roadmap, the Read Aloud feature for the Office app will soon allow Android users to listen to their documents while their device screen is locked.
The update is currently under development, but should take effect for all Android users by the end of April. TechRadar Pro has asked for clarification as to whether the iOS app will receive a similar fix.
Microsoft Office accessibility
The Read Aloud text-to-speech service for Microsoft Office is useful on a number of levels. Most importantly, it acts as an accessibility feature for those with sight impairments or conditions such as dyslexia. But separately, it can be used to good effect in multitasking scenarios, when someone is on the move or otherwise engaged.
The inability to utilize the Read Aloud feature when the device screen is locked is a needless source of frustration that Microsoft is looking to remedy with the upcoming update. The fix will allow users to pocket their device without having to worry about accidental interactions with the screen, and should have a positive effect on battery life too.
The text-to-speech tweak is the latest in a number of accessibility-focused updates for the Microsoft Office suite, all of which share a common goal: to level the playing field for all users.
Last week, for example, Microsoft published a separate roadmap entry detailing an update for Outlook that will allow users to ensure their email messages live up to accessibility standards.
“We are expanding the functionality [of the MailTips help service] to automatically prompt you when an accessibility violation is detected while composing an email to large audiences or external users, for example, and help you fix the issue,” the company explained.
And in January, Microsoft announced a new add-on for Word, Excel and PowerPoint that lets users notify colleagues of any additional needs they may have. The idea was to create a non-confrontational way for someone to remind co-workers for their accessibility needs that didn’t involve sending a dedicated email or instant message.
There are some apps that are abandoned through no fault of their own. The team responsible could have moved on to other projects, or a new, redesigned app may have appeared to take its place.
If you go trawling through YouTube or even find an old PC in the family office, you can find yourself transported back to a time when the only way you could use the internet was by being sat down in front of a desk, waiting for a dial-up modem to connect.
But we're also heading into an era with the App Store and Google Play Store, where users are longing for deleted apps to make a comeback, regardless of how they may look or operate in today's world.
There’s a growing nostalgia for the apps we used to use every day. Whether it's to feel like we're back at school, or just because the app was so good that we’d like to use them again for our new Windows 11 and iPhone 13 devices in 2022. Windows Media Player coming back is a great example of this, and it's why there should be more comebacks for depreciated apps.
With this in mind, here are three apps that should see a return and a remake for 2022 to take advantage of the devices we use every day.
Vesper
(Image credit: Q Branch)
This is a note-taking app that set itself apart from the rest in the productivity category at the time.
Vesper’s design is classically inspired by Apple's Notes app from 2013, but in a modern vibe that still looks good in 2022.
The app's purpose is simple – to take notes. But you can also tag these notes, similar to a feature that Apple brought to its own Notes app only in 2021. You can swipe to the left to archive any notes that you don't need, and you can re-arrange them to order the notes in a way that suits your needs.
For some reason, we weren't able to redownload it for iPhone, but on an M1 Mac we could, and it still works great, even with a janky way to resize the window in only two ways.
You can't sync notes to different devices as that was shut down when Vesper shut its doors, but it's a great app to use locally on your device if you're creating one or two projects.
Since its discontinuation, the source code has been available on GitHub for someone else to make their own interpretation of the app. Using this app in 2022, we can't help but wonder if one last hurrah should occur for Vesper. One more version where the band gets back together, much like James Bond in the mid-nineties, to be relevant again but for a new civilized age.
Even in a world where we have note apps that work similarly to WhatsApp, there's still room for a Vesper, especially in an app world where we use to-do lists and collaborative efforts to jot things down for those personal projects.
To see a new, final Vesper with Widgets, a web version variant, iCloud sync, alongside the proverbial dark mode option, could be a great way for Q Branch to sign off and raise a glass to, and have it work for our modern iPhones again.
MSN Messenger
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Between 1999 and 2009, Microsoft's messaging app was everywhere. You'd finish school and go straight to your parents' PC to log on to MSN Messenger, to either continue a conversation from earlier or to arrange something for later that evening.
You would log in and be greeted with a list of the contacts you've added, with many showcasing using waves of emojis and symbols placed on either side to their name for effect.
You could 'nudge' and 'wink' a friend who would be online, and you could exchange images if you wanted.
Eventually, the ability to play games with one another, alongside webcam support would be available to use, taking a strain on the 120Kbps broadband that would have been the average common internet speeds in 2003.
MSN Messenger was also arguably the first dating app before Tinder and Bumble. A small rainbow or heart next to a name would be a not-so-subtle hint on someone's name, yet it could initiate something more in the playground the next day. Messenger had something for everyone during those times, but ironically it didn't move to where apps were going.
Due to the rise of the iPhone and the App Store in 2008, Windows Live Messenger, as it was renamed to, dropped in usage, as everyone was starting to use WhatsApp, Facebook, FaceTime, and iMessage to communicate with one another, and Messenger was discontinued in 2014.
While you can install a version of the app in Windows 11, you can only get as far as the login screen, as the server to connect to the Hotmail server has long been depreciated.
In hindsight, Microsoft didn't know what it had – it rode a wave that the company hasn't had in the messaging category since. Especially when you consider how Zoom soared in use during the pandemic while Skype was left as an afterthought.
But nostalgia is starting to seep through to apps – Windows Media Player has returned to Windows 11, and currently, there are two apps by Microsoft, Teams, and Skype that both do the same function, but not as well as Zoom.
Rebooting MSN Messenger as a service for everyone, but with business features for work, could be a big boon to many.
Imagine MSN Messenger as an app for iOS and Android, alongside Windows 11, macOS, and Chromebooks. With Microsoft's aim of making apps available on as many systems as possible Messenger is the next logical step.
One that can bring back the nudges, the winks, and themes to bring the look of 2022 back, could be appealing to many, while the features are useful to others.
Microsoft is in a bind with Skype and Teams. Making a fresh start with an app that users have nostalgia for, but rebuilt for 2022, could be something that could appeal to everyone, and clear the deck of confusion that the company has carried with the two apps for a number of years now.
Google Wave
This effort by Google in 2009 was a direct precursor to the Slacks and Microsoft Teams of apps that you probably use every day in 2022. The main theme of Google Wave was collaboration, with an effort to help with projects that involve many users without having to use Skype or a messaging app from back in the day, in order to collaborate in a Google Docs file.
Wave only lasted for three years between 2009 and 2012, but it’s still missed by plenty of users. It was a time when Google would try out different products almost every six months, but if it didn't quite hit the mark there’s a good chance you’re not able to use it anymore.
Google Wave worked differently from other apps, as you would have to be referred in order for your Google account to have access to Wave giving it an exclusive feel. Eventually, in 2010 it was available to everyone, so you could invite someone to a project without having to find a referral link.
This would combine Google Mail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and your contact list into one app, where you could collaborate on different projects.
While the user interface in the video department left a lot to be desired due to so much going on, it had a knack for introducing each feature and interface option in steps. After an hour or so, you'd be able to use it with ease.
But Google pulled the plug on Wave in 2011, with its reasons being that too few users were using the service, even though there were signs that it was about to grow, due to the increase in social network usage at the time.
As it is with Google's stance on abandoned projects, there's no way of trying out a remade version of Wave in 2022 – you can only be reminded through screenshots and videos. But in a way, you're already using them through Slack, Teams, and Google Docs collaborations.
But it's a service that should come back, as it could work well alongside Slack integration and app versions on iOS and Android.
But with Google's focus on mobile and content, it's 50/50 as to whether it would consider a return for Wave.
Windows 11 has some weird system requirements that has meant some perfectly powerful and relatively modern PCs are deemed unable to run the new operating system. However, it’s relatively easy to get Windows 11 to run on these devices anyway, and while it all seems to work fine, Microsoft has warned against doing this.
The company now seems even more determined to dissuade people from running Windows 11 on unsupported hardware by adding a watermark that appears on the desktop that says “System requirements not met.” While this doesn’t prevent the PC from being used, it’s pretty annoying, so it comes as little surprise to find that someone at Deskmodder.de has already found a way to remove the watermark.
How to remove the Windows 11 watermark
If the watermark appears on your PC, here’s the steps you need to take to remove it. This process involves editing Windows 11’s registry, and if this is done incorrectly, there’s a danger your PC may not work correctly – so only do this if you’re confident, and follow the instructions exactly.
Open up the Registry Editor by typing ‘Regedit’ in the Windows 11 search box.
On the left-hand side, open up HKEY_CURRENT_USER then scroll down to Control Panel. You should see an entry called UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache.
Right-click it and select ‘Modify’ from the menu.
Change the SV2 DWORD value from 1 to 0.
Save and then restart your PC.
If you can’t see UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache, right-click on the Control Panel folder and select New > Key. Name it UnsupportedHardwareNotificationCache, then in the new folder right-click and select New > SV2 DWORD. Right-click it and select ‘Modify’ and change the value from 1 to 0.
Once your PC restarts, the watermark should be gone.
Analysis: Is this legal and should you do it?
This hack is relatively straightforward, but does that mean you should do it? In the past, Microsoft used watermarks like this when devices were running a copy of Windows that hadn’t been activated (so possibly hadn’t been paid for). Removing a watermark to make an non-activated version of Windows appear to be activated would almost certainly be illegal – as well as ethically wrong.
Things aren’t quite as straightforward here, as if you have an activated version of Windows 10, you should be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 11. However, part of the licence agreement is that you run Windows 11 on supported hardware.
While you may get away with it for personal use where you just want to remove the watermark for aesthetic reasons, if someone were to use it to make a PC appear to support Windows 11 when it doesn’t (and then sells it on that basis), again, that’s likely to be illegal.
It’s also worth considering that while this hack removes the watermark, it doesn’t mean the device now meets the Windows 11 system requirements. Microsoft does not recommend running Windows 11 on systems that don’t meet requirements, and it may mean that future updates, including important security fixes, won’t be compatible.
For that reason alone, the safest thing you can do if you get this watermark is to uninstall Windows 11 and stick with Windows 10.
On Tuesday, institutions central to Ukraine’s military and economy were hit with denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. Impact was limited, but the ramifications are not. Threatpost
Microsoft has released a new update for its PowerToys utility suite for Windows 10 and Windows 11, which may be one of the least exciting for a while.
Microsoft’s PowerToys v0.55.2 is available for download now, but doesn't come with any new features or upgrades. Instead, it packs an important security update that addresses a security flaw discovered in the previous release.
That means that even though it doesn't sound particularly interesting, PowerToys users should still install the update immediately to make sure their systems stay protected.
PowerToys security
“This is a patch release to fix issues in v0.55.1. due to an installer bug and .NET 5 doing an update for the runtime,” the official changelog for the release reads. “We deemed (it) important for stability based on incoming rates.”
PowerToys users can install the update now by going to the Settings menu, then General > Updates > Check for updates.
Although perhaps not a commonly-known app for most users, PowerToys allows Windows users the chance to optimize their software for maximum efficiency and productivity.
PowerToys is an open source suite of tools for advanced Windows users, designed to help bypass certain settings and perform actions that are unavailable by default. It also offers a wider range of customization options.
Since PowerToys was rebooted in 2019, Microsoft has serviced the suite regularly with new tools and features, a pattern extended with the latest release.
This includes the recent inclusion of a mouse crosshair tool that lets users quickly identify the location of their cursor using a keyboard shortcut, and two new File Explorer add-ons that dramatically expand the number of file types supported by the preview pane, including support for 3D printers.
A further PowerToys update earlier in 2022 also included several useful additions, including an “Always on Top” utility that allows users to toggle a window in focus to be on top with a quick press of Win + Ctrl + T. Microsoft also changed the hotkey to mute your webcam and microphone from Win + N to Win + Shift + Q to avoid conflict with an existing Windows 11 keyboard shortcut.
Cryptocurrency is a field that’s only grown since its inception, and Opera wants in. The company is making headway by developing another variant of its web browser: the Crypto Browser Project.
This app enables users to store their crypto wallets within the new browser. Users can also follow and manage different types of electronic coin, as well as the controversial NFT content that’s being offered by various companies. These capabilities are all grouped into what’s called Web3, a collection of activities that some predict will be heavily used across the web in the coming years.
Opera is breaking into new frontiers, creating specialized browsers like the gaming-focused GX. The Crypto Browser Project is Opera’s attempt to target users that have a crypto wallet.
TechRadar spoke with Jan Standal, VP of Product Marketing at Opera, to understand the need for a cryptocurrency-focused web browser.
The crypto-elephant in the room
If you’ve used an Opera product before, the Crypto browser will feel familiar to you. The layout is similar, but with a blue and green color scheme.
We asked Standal what Opera’s browser could offer to the crypto market:
“Browsers have always provided a trusted gateway through which consumers experience and engage with the internet – and all the new digital trends and technologies on it,” Standal explains. “With the Crypto Browser Project, we set out to build the first truly custom experience for people who want to experience blockchain and Web3 technologies, channeling almost three decades of experience we have in creating user-friendly browsers.
“Our Crypto Browser lowers the barriers to entry to the Web3 world by providing our users with easy access to blockchain news and tutorials, seamless browsing of Web3 Services and apps, and our trusted non-custodial wallet built directly into the browser.”
Why go all-in with a browser, rather than a plugin?
We wondered why the aim was a browser from Opera focusing on cryptocurrency, rather than a browser extension.
“By controlling the browser, we are able to solve experiences that can’t be solved with just extensions. Take, for example, the secure clipboard feature in the Crypto Browser beta: it protects your wallet address from being manipulated by other apps. Solving such cases makes Opera the most secure option for cryptocurrency and Web3 enthusiasts – something that wouldn't be possible to do with traditional browsers.
“While the shift to Web3 is underway, most of the apps are being created by small software companies, and we hope they can benefit from our technologies, experience, and user base.”
Since cryptocurrency is still in its infancy, we asked Standal how the browser could cater to different types of crypto.
“Partnerships are a priority for Opera – we are pursuing an inclusive multi-chain strategy. By creating a solution respectful of all ecosystems, and encouraging the development of common standards and practices amongst developer communities, we hope to help this incredible and diverse new field of creators achieve the fullest potential for their technologies.”
(Image credit: Future)
We pressed Standal on Opera’s decision to create a separate browser that focuses on cryptocurrency rather than incorporating crypto features into Opera or Opera GX.
“With the Crypto Browser Project, we are trying an all-in approach, providing people with a specific experience they need in order to interact with Web3,” Standal explains. “As the technologies of Web3 become more advanced, we will see a strong divergence in the way the browser will interact with the world – and it was important that we prepared for that.
“We believe that if you’re interested in cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies, even funny coins, you should have a dedicated space for that. If you’re starting and simply want to understand the space better, the Crypto Browser Project will be the perfect starting point.”
Standal continued: “With Opera GX, we learned the power of community, and how we could craft a browser built just for the needs of our awesome gaming users. With the Crypto Browser project, we are showing the same care and attention to the crypto community focused on safe, easy, and intuitive access to crypto services and tools in a way even a novice can understand.”
Feeling safe with crypto
There’s still the ongoing issue of security and authenticity when it comes to bitcoins. There’s also this persistent idea that crypto goes hand in hand with gambling, especially considering Bitcoin’s rise and fall in value is always making news. We asked Standal what steps Opera has taken with this browser to keep users safe.
“While it's true that crypto is not for everyone yet, we see that millions of our browser users are already onboarding to crypto and Web3 is happening. We strongly believe that it's better for serious companies to participate in the space, help the users and shape the industry rather than avoid it,” Standal explains. “Helping our users avoid scams is a natural part of this. The Crypto Browser provides you with the Crypto Corner, which is a source of tutorials, access to influential publications, and key information about the space. There’s also a whole set of security and privacy features such as the built-in VPN, ad blocker, the secure clipboard, and others.”
NFT
Another side to cryptocurrency is the NFT, or Non-fungible Token. These are digital assets, like images or videos, that are allegedly uniquely yours. Opera’s crypto browser will allow you to use your wallet to purchase these. We wanted to know where the company stood on this process.
“Those steps are outlined on NFT platforms,” Standal clarifies. “From our side, we make sure no one meddles with your wallet address by providing you with a built-in wallet and a secure clipboard to copy and paste your wallet address and other sensitive data.”
(Image credit: Opera)
The company also announced in a blog post that the crypto browser is in development for Apple devices, and will be submitted to the App Store. But with features allowing users to manage their crypto wallet within a web browser, we asked Standal if Apple’s most likely response will be to reject the app, especially if there's explicit ways to buy and sell crypto.
“The Opera browser for iOS already comes with an array of crypto features. The Crypto Browser Project isn’t that different in terms of features; rather [it] builds them into a unified experience,” Standal continues. “It’s your entry point into Web3, with its apps and other solutions – as well as providing information about blockchain technologies. And [it’s] a safe and trusted source for where to explore next.”
Analysis: is this web browser a sign of things to come?
It was surprising to see Opera announce a web browser solely focused on cryptocurrency. Considering some of the negative connotations of the field, it’s currently a slippery slope for any company to include any features that involve crypto and NFT content.
But Opera has gone all-in with this venture by presenting an entirely new browser, as opposed to a feature or a browser extension. While Standal maintains that the Opera Crypto Browser can guide users in crypto wallet management, while helping them to keep track of any other trend within the world of electronic currencies, users might do well to use dedicated apps instead.
Companies like Coinbase offer apps that give you a direct overview of your wallet, and only your wallet. Having a web browser that lets you watch YouTube videos, while allowing you to keep track of Bitcoin, may be too much for most users.
Time will tell if other browsers, such as Firefox and Microsoft Edge among others, will introduce features focused on cryptocurrency. We’d be surprised if any other company went the extra mile and created a whole crypto-browser, in the same way that Opera has.
Crypto could still be a fad that ends, a story that’s remembered at the end of the decade in some Netflix documentary. But then again, if companies don’t push some boundaries, we’ll know how far technology can go – or how convenient new ideas might be for us.
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