No major release is perfect. The community has reported three minor bugs in version 74:
Opera has promised a hotfix (74.0.1) by the end of the month.
Opera Mini 74 is not a radical overhaul—it doesn’t need to be. Instead, it is a thoughtful update that polishes existing features, introduces smarter data handling, and aligns the browser with modern Android design guidelines (Material You). Here are the headline changes:
We tested the new version on a budget Moto E (3GB RAM, Android 12) against the previous build. The results justify the update. opera mini 74 android new
| Metric | Opera Mini 73 | Opera Mini 74 (New) | Improvement | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Page Load (3G simulation) | 4.2 seconds | 2.9 seconds | 31% faster | | RAM usage (5 tabs) | 210 MB | 178 MB | 15% less RAM | | APK size | 48 MB | 44 MB | 8% smaller | | Data saving (heavy images) | 82% | 88% | New compression algorithm |
Verdict: Opera Mini 74 is objectively faster and lighter. If you’re running a phone with Android Go or an older flagship, this update breathes new life into your device.
The headline feature of version 74 is Smart Download. Using on-device machine learning, the browser now predicts what you want to download next. For example, if you frequently read PDFs at 6 PM, Opera Mini 74 will pre-load the download page metadata overnight over Wi-Fi. No major release is perfect
User benefit: Instant access to documents and media without waiting for server handshakes.
With the "new" version, Opera addresses a common criticism: data privacy. While Opera Mini routes traffic through Opera’s servers to compress it, the company has updated its privacy policy for version 74.
Previously, opening a PDF in Opera Mini meant downloading it and opening an external app. Version 74 includes a lightweight, built-in PDF reader that renders documents instantly without leaving the browser. Additionally, the “Offline Pages” feature has been enhanced: you can now save entire web pages (including images and basic CSS) for offline reading, and Opera Mini will automatically refresh those saved pages when you reconnect to Wi-Fi. Opera has promised a hotfix (74
You should hit "Update" immediately if:
You might skip this update if: