Opera

Name: Opera
Author: Opera Software (Norway), then Opera Ltd (subsidiary of Kunlun Tech, China)

Also known as: MultiTorg Opera, Nintendo DSi browser

1995 – present Active

Innovative Norwegian browser (Speed Dial, mouse gestures), among the oldest still active. Switched from Presto to Chromium/Blink in 2013.

Facts

Developer: Opera Software (Norway), then Opera Ltd (subsidiary of Kunlun Tech, China)
Website: www.opera.com
Current engines: BlinkWebKit (iOS)
Former engines: ElektraPresto
Derived from: Chromium (since 2013)
Current platforms: WindowsmacOSLinuxiOS
Former platforms: Mac OS ClassicBSDUnixOS/2BeOS/HaikuConsolesOther
Details: Old Presto versions: classic Mac OS (Opera 5.00 to 6.03, 2002–2004), FreeBSD (up to 12.16, 2013), Solaris (up to 10.11, 2010), OS/2 and eComStation (5.12, 2001), QNX (5.21, 2001), BeOS (3.62, 2000); Nintendo DSi / DSi XL (built-in browser, an Opera version, HTML5 canvas; DSi Shop closed in 2017); iOS: Opera Touch renamed “Opera” on March 22, 2021 (WebKit required by iOS). Android, Symbian/EPOC and Windows Mobile: see “Opera Mobile” and “Opera Mini”; Wii: see “Nintendo Internet Channel”; Nintendo DS: see “Nintendo DS Browser”; TVs: see “Vewd Browser (Opera TV)”
Popularity: 82/100

Lineage

Predecessor: Opera Crypto Browser
Derived browsers (5): Opera Mobile, Opera Mini, Opera GX, Nintendo Internet Channel, Opera Crypto Browser

Key versions

Apr. 1995
1.00Shown publicly at the WWW 1995 conference; limited release with an MDI interface.[1]
Dec. 9, 1996
2.10First public release, with page zoom and sessions.[1]
Dec. 1, 1997
3.00First Opera with JavaScript, SSL and pop-up blocking.[1]
Nov. 18, 1998
3.50ElektraNew Elektra engine, CSS 1 and TLS 1.0 support.[1]
July 29, 1999
3.65 BeOS betaFirst beta release for BeOS.[1]
June 28, 2000
4.00New cross-platform core, tabbed browsing and a built-in mail client.[1]
Dec. 6, 2000
5.00First free download, funded by an ad banner.[1]
Apr. 10, 2001
5.10Mouse gestures introduced.[1]
Dec. 18, 2001
6.00Unicode support, skins and small-screen rendering.[1]
Oct. 31, 2002
6.10First FreeBSD release.[1]
Jan. 28, 2003
7.00Presto 1.0New Presto engine and new Linear B JavaScript engine.[1]
May 12, 2004
7.50Built-in IRC client and RSS reader; development unified with the macOS version.[1]
Apr. 19, 2005
8.00SVG support, voice control and “Fit to Window Width” scaling.[1]
Sept. 20, 2005
8.50Ad banner and license fee permanently removed.[1]
June 20, 2006
9.00Presto 2.0Passes Acid2; widgets, BitTorrent, content blocking and <canvas>.[1]
Apr. 11, 2007
9.20Speed Dial and developer tools introduced.[1]
Sept. 1, 2009
10.00Presto 2.2Scores 100/100 on Acid3, adds auto-update and inline spell check.[1]
Mar. 2, 2010
10.50Presto 2.5New Carakan JavaScript engine, HTML5 video and Web Storage.[1]
Dec. 16, 2010
11.00Presto 2.7Extensions and tab stacking introduced.[1]
June 14, 2012
12.00Presto 2.1064-bit Windows and Mac builds, out-of-process plug-ins; Opera Unite dropped.[1]
July 2, 2013
15BlinkComplete rewrite based on Chromium and the Blink engine.[2]
July 4, 2013
12.16Presto 2.12Last Presto-based release for macOS and Linux.[2]
Dec. 3, 2014
26BlinkFirst stable Linux release since 12.16.[2]
June 8, 2016
38Free unlimited built-in VPN added.[2]
May 10, 2017
45“Opera Reborn” redesign with built-in messengers; last version for 32-bit Linux.[3]
Oct. 1, 2018
iOS (Opera Touch)WebKitOpera Touch, a one-handed mobile browser, arrives on iPhone; the first full Opera browser on iOS.[4]
Apr. 9, 2019
60Blink“Reborn 3” minimalist redesign with a crypto wallet and Web3 features.[3]
June 20, 2023
100“Opera One” redesign with the Aria AI assistant and tab islands.[3]

Version sources: [1] theredo.org, [2] History of the Opera web browser (Wikipedia en), [3] Opera (web browser) (Wikipedia en), [4] blogs.opera.com

Opera

Facts

Lineage

Key versions

Sources