Johannesburg – Opera adds the free browser AI, ARIA, to Opera Mini, a popular Android-based browser with over 100 million users worldwide.
This update brings powerful AI features that allow you to enter your browser directly at no additional cost, including up-to-date information from the web, research support, content summary, image generation, and more.
“AI is rapidly becoming an integral part of the daily internet experience and has a huge interest in AI solutions among South Africans, bringing ARIA to Opera Mini is naturally adding to the most downloaded browsers.”
“We are excited to explore how South African users will rely on each day to see how AI can enhance its capabilities with the integration of built-in AI ARIA.”
Opera Mini is known and highly regarded for its many unique features, from live football scores to built-in digital wallet mini pie to the current Aria.
Addressing data costs – priority for users in South Africa
Internet access is increasingly available to South Africans, but the cost of the internet is increasingly higher than per capita income or GDP.
Data costs remain an important national concern, as 80% of South Africans say the data is too high, and more than two-thirds (69%) reported that they had run out of data regularly by the end of the month, according to an opera survey in March 2025.
For years, Opera Mini has played a key role in improving internet accessibility in South Africa.
Opera Mini's Turbo Data Saving Mode reduces data usage by up to 90% compared to other major browsers.
Over the past three years, opera has saved South Africans $10 million (6 million GB) worth of money through their own data compression technology.
In the free data campaign, which has been active since 2020, South Africans can use the Opera Mini and benefit from 3GB per month using the MTN network.
Since 2022, Opera has invested millions of dollars in free data campaigns in South Africa, closing the digital gap and ensuring access to information.
With ARIA integrated into Opera Mini, users will get the benefits of advanced AI tools without sacrificing valuable data.
ARIA is optimized for minimal data consumption and is included in the free daily data bundle of South African Opera. This is the ideal solution for 69% of South Africans who only use AI tools if they didn't add data usage.
Aria – Opera's Native Built-in AI
ARIA Browser AI integrates with Opera's browsers on both desktop and mobile, enabling a chat-based interface that allows access to AI.
Searching information, text or code generation, image generation, and understanding enhances user interaction.
Aria is powered by Opera's own composer AI engine, which utilizes both Openai and Google AI Technologies to provide the most relevant answers and integrates image generation through Google's Imagen3 Fast model.
With today's update, ARIA is now available in all opera browsers.
With 24%* South Africans who already use AI tools several times a day, surveyed South Africans and 59% relying on AI, ARIA within Opera Mini offers a way to make these experiences more accessible and completely affordable.
The Opera Mini will soon have more exciting and unique features! Opera Mini can be downloaded or updated from the Google Play Store, while ARIA is available in your browser.
About Opera Mini
Released in 2005, Opera Mini is a small, fast and powerful browser. It comes with unique features such as data compression, offline file sharing, and built-in ad blockers.
Today, Opera Mini has been downloaded over a billion times on the Google Play Store from people who have chosen over browsers preinstalled on Android mobile devices.
Opera Mini has a 4.6 star rating on Google Play and has been reviewed by over 8 million people worldwide.
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