Sad news, Opera Max users. The data compression app has been let go by its owners in an abrupt move.
Opera Max is one of the few free VPN services that promised to settle your Android phone’s data-hogging woes that you cannot manage by other data saving tips and apps. Its approach is uncomplicated as it relies on compression algorithms to lower data usage.
In Opera Blogs, the company states, “Opera has now decided to discontinue Opera Max. The product had a substantially different value proposition than our browser products, and represented a different focus for Opera. We, therefore, focus on our browsers and other upcoming services.”
In other words, the app will not be supported by updates, nor will you see it in Google Play (although you can pick it from verified apk hosts). We are not sure about the specifics about Opera Max’s value proposition that goes against the company’s products such as the popular Opera Mini and Opera Browser.
Speaking of the Opera Mini, while it has legacy fans including yours truly (the app was popular in the pre-smartphone days, remember those?) due to its light-weight design that is lean on resources, the app has since diverted off what made it an excellent choice back in the day. It is packed to the brim with ads and obtrusive as well as nagging add-ons, which would be fine if they weren’t so persistent in littering the notification shade with cards. I tried it over the weekend after a three-year break only to be reminded of a similar, sad experience when I tried to rekindle my love for ES File Explorer.
On the bright side of things, Opera Max users will continue to enjoy the app’s services in an unspecified period. However, Opera will remind them to let it go before termination of server-side support.
