Xiaomi forcibly installs Opera on some phones

Ain't no thing as too many browsers?

Tech outlet MIUI Polska's author Kacper Skrzypek has discovered that Xiaomi phones in certain countries now have three web browsers: Google Chrome, the company's own Mi Browser, and Opera (via Android Authority).

Even Samsung phones come with two internet browsers but three is really stretching it too far.

MIUI, as you may already know, is Xiaomi's Android skin. Xiaomi phones sold in China run Chinese ROM with China-specific apps, whereas other regions come with market-specific versions of Global ROM.

Though Opera is uninstallable in most markets, Indian users cannot delete it. They may find some solace in the fact that the Indian government banned Mi Browser in the country in 2020 as it was perceived as a threat to the country's sovereignty and integrity.

Opera hasn't been installed on phones running European, Russian, Taiwanese, Indonesian, and Turkish ROMs.

Customers in some Asian countries, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America will now get three browsers. Even though it is possible to remove Opera, not all users are tech-savvy enough to uninstall apps they have no use for. The browser will just eat up space and be a drain on other system resources.

All Android phone makers have their own versions of custom interfaces with extra features, but many of those features border on useless. If you are put off by bloatware, you might want to check out Google, Motorola, or Nokia phones.

Some Indian Xiaomi users are already requesting that Xiaomi give them the option to remove the Opera browser. Whether the company will listen is another story.