Opera has launched a brand new web browser called Opera Neon. This is a concept web browser designed to offer a tantalizing glimpse at the future. Even if you're happy with the current state of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, Opera Neon is certainly worth taking for a spin.

Web browsers have evolved massively over the years. However, they tend to evolve in short, sharp bursts, with a period of innovation followed by long periods of incremental improvement. We're arguably due another major leap forward, and Opera is hoping to lead the way.

Opera Neon is Opera's new browser, and it shows how Opera thinks web browsers may look in the future. Opera Neon is available for PC and Mac for free right now. And it offers something truly original compared to the web browsers we all use on a daily basis.

Exploring Everything Opera Neon Has to Offer

Opera Neon immediately looks different than the current crop of browsers. It blends into your desktop by using the same background. Tabs and shortcuts are presented as circular bubbles. And the taskbar is removed from the equation, with basic controls shunted to the sidebar.

If you delve a little deeper you'll discover a split-screen view which enables you to have two websites open at once. You can also control media playback with minimal effort. This allows you to listen to music in the background, or watch a video while still browsing.

There's a lot more to discover too, but to be honest, nothing we say here will compare to actually trying Opera Neon for yourself. So we recommend you take it for a test drive to get a proper feel for what Opera is trying to achieve with Neon.

Opera Neon Signposts the Future of Browsers

Opera Neon is designed to be a concept for a future web browser. So you're probably not going to want to start using it as your main browser on a day-to-day basis quite yet. However, Opera promises that "some of its new features are expected to be added to Opera this spring".

Ironically, the regular Opera browser is already innovating more than the competition, with a built-in VPN, an integrated ad-blocker, and more. However, if Neon is anything to go on, Opera looks set to keep pushing the envelope in order to wrest market share away from Google Chrome.

Do you currently use the Opera web browser? Why do you use Opera over Chrome, Firefox, or Safari? Will you be trying Opera Neon? How do you think web browsers will evolve in the future? What's your most-wanted feature? Please let us know in the comments below!