Opera

🌐 History of Opera Browser

🔹 Introduction

Opera is a web browser developed by Opera Software ASA, a company based in Oslo, Norway.
It is known for innovation — introducing many features years before other browsers, such as tabs, speed dial, and built-in ad blocking.
Opera started as a research project at Telenor (a Norwegian telecom company) in 1994, and evolved into one of the oldest surviving web browsers still in use today.

🕰️ Timeline & Evolution

🧩 1994–1996 – Origins and Opera 1.0

1994: Opera began as an internal project at Telenor, Norway’s largest telecommunications company.

1995: Developers Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir Ivarsøy left Telenor to create their own company, Opera Software AS, to continue development

1996: Opera 1.0 was released for Microsoft Windows — a lightweight, fast browser with focus on speed and efficiency.

🚀 1997–2000 – Early Growth (Opera 2 to 4)

Opera 2.0 (1997): Introduced multiple document interface (MDI) — users could have multiple pages open in one window (a precursor to tabbed browsing).

Opera 3.0 (1998): Added JavaScript and SSL (secure connections).

Opera 4.0 (2000): Major rewrite using a new cross-platform core — allowing Opera to run on Windows, Linux, Mac, BeOS, and mobile devices.

📱 2000–2003 – Mobile Innovation (Opera 5–7)

Opera 5 (2000): Made the browser free with ads; introduced customizable skins.

Opera 6 (2001): Added Unicode support, mouse gestures, and better language support.

Opera 7 (2003): Introduced the Presto engine, developed in-house — a very fast, efficient rendering engine.

Added tabbed browsing and integrated email client (M2).

Presto became Opera’s key advantage for speed and innovation.

🌍 2004–2009 – Expansion and Innovation (Opera 8–10)

Opera 8 (2005): Added voice control, SVG, and improved security.

Opera 9 (2006):

Opera Mini (2005): Released for mobile phones — compressed web pages for faster loading on slow connections. It became hugely popular in developing regions.

Opera 10 (2009): Introduced Opera Turbo (data compression technology) and Speed Dial, showing thumbnails of favorite sites.

Opera became known for data-saving and speed.

🔄 2010–2013 – Transition and New Engine

Opera 11 (2010): Added extensions (like Chrome) and tab stacking.

Opera 12 (2012): Improved themes, hardware acceleration, and security.

2013: A major change — Opera abandoned its Presto engine and switched to Google’s Blink engine (the same as Chrome).

📱 2013–2016 – Mobile Focus and New Ownership

Opera launched multiple variants:

Focused on mobile growth, especially in Asia and Africa.

2016: Opera Software’s consumer products (including the browser) were acquired by a Chinese consortium led by Qihoo 360 and Kunlun Tech for $600 million.

🧠 2017–2020 – Rebirth and Innovation

Opera Neon (2017): A concept browser with futuristic design and new UI ideas.

Opera 50 (2018): Added anti-cryptocurrency mining protection and VPN.

Opera GX (2019): A special version for gamers, with CPU/RAM limits, gaming news, and Twitch integration.

Opera 60 “Reborn 3” (2019):

🧩 2021–2023 – Privacy, AI, and Modernization

Opera 70–90 series (2021–2023):

Opera One (2023):

⚡ 2024–2025 – AI-Powered Era

Opera One (2024–2025 updates):

🧠 Key Innovations Introduced by Opera

Opera pioneered several browser features that others later adopted:
Feature —>First Introduced By Opera
Tabbed browsing —>2000 (Opera 4 beta)
Pop-up blocker —>Early 2000s
Speed Dial —>2007 (Opera 9.2)
Built-in ad blocker —>Long before Chrome/Edge
Built-in VPN —>2016
Crypto wallet —>2019
AI assistant (Aria) —>2023
Gamer browser (Opera GX) —>2019

🧩 Opera’s Browser Family

Version —>Purpose
Opera One —>Main browser (AI-powered)
Opera GX —>Gaming browser
Opera Mini —>Lightweight mobile browser for slow networks
Opera for Android —>Full-featured Android version
Opera Crypto Browser —>Web3 and blockchain-focused browser

🌍 Opera Today

Used by over 300 million people worldwide.

Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

Known for speed, privacy tools, AI integration, and gaming focus.

Continues to innovate in AI (Aria), Web3, and user customization.

🕹️ Summary Table

Version —>Year —>Key Highlights
1.0 —>1996 —>First release, lightweight design
3–4 —>1998–2000 —>JavaScript, MDI, Presto engine
5–9 —>2000–2006 —>Free version, Speed Dial, BitTorrent
10–12 —>2009–2012 —>Opera Turbo, extensions, themes
15 —>2013 —>Switched to Chromium (Blink)
40–50 —>2016–2018 —>Built-in VPN, ad block
GX —>2019 —>Gaming browser launch
60 (Reborn 3) —>2019 —>Web3, Crypto Wallet
One —>2023 —>Modular Design, AI “Aria”
2025 —>Ongoing —>AI evolution, privacy, speed

The Pioneering Spirit: Pre-2000

The story of Opera begins in 1994 in Norway, within Telenor, the country’s largest telecommunications company. Two engineers, Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir Ivarsøy, were working on a research project and became frustrated with the state of web browsing. They believed they could build something better, faster, and more feature-rich

1995: The project was spun out of Telenor, and Opera Software AS was founded.

1996: The first public beta, Opera 2.0, was released for Microsoft Windows. It was groundbreaking from the start:

Ad-Supported Model: Initially, Opera was ad-supported, displaying a banner ad in the browser interface unless users paid to remove it.

A Timeline of Key Milestones

2000: Going Mobile, A Decade Ahead

Opera released a groundbreaking small-screen version of its browser, demonstrating a vision for the mobile web long before smartphones existed. This would evolve into Opera Mini.

2005: The Tabbed Brower Revolution

While other browsers were catching up on tabs, Opera had already perfected them. This was also the year the ad-supported model was dropped, and Opera became completely free.

2006: Defining Mobile Browsing

Opera Mini was officially launched. Its killer feature was server-side compression. Opera’s servers would compress and optimize web pages by up to 90% before sending them to the phone. This made web browsing feasible on low-power feature phones and drastically reduced data costs, making it a global phenomenon, especially in regions with expensive or slow mobile data.

2007-2008: A Unified Platform and Breaking New Ground

Opera 9 introduced Opera Link (syncing bookmarks across devices) and Speed Dial (a grid of visual bookmarks on the new tab page). Speed Dial was so popular it was quickly copied by every other major browser.

Opera 9.5 (codenamed Kestrel) featured a massive overhaul of its core engine, Presto, making it much faster and more standards-compliant.

2010: Expanding the Ecosystem

Opera Mobile, a full-featured browser for smartphones, was released on Android and Symbian.

Opera Unite was launched, a bold but ultimately unsuccessful feature that turned the browser into a mini-server for sharing files and hosting websites directly.

2013: The Big Switch - Ditching Presto

This was the most pivotal and controversial year in Opera’s history. Facing the dominance of WebKit and Chromium engines, Opera Software made a monumental decision: it would abandon its proprietary Presto rendering engine and switch to the Chromium/Blink engine that powers Google Chrome.

While this ensured better website compatibility and reduced development costs, it meant sacrificing much of its unique identity and engine-level innovations.

2016: A New Chapter - The Chinese Consortium Buyout

A consortium of Chinese companies, including Qihoo 360 and Kunlun Tech, acquired the Opera browser and its brand for $600 million. The original company renamed itself Otello and focused on advertising, while the browser division moved forward under new ownership.

2018-Present: The Feature-Focused Chromium Browser

Under new ownership, Opera has reinvented itself as a “power-user” Chromium browser, focusing on integrated features that others lack.

Opera 50 introduced a free, built-in VPN.

Built-in Ad Blocker became a default feature.

Workspaces, Tab Islands, and Aria (a native AI chatbot) are examples of its continued drive to innovate on top of the Chromium base.

It has also spun off successful projects like Opera GX (2019), a browser specifically designed for gamers with features to limit RAM and CPU usage.

Key Technological Innovations & Features

Opera’s history is a catalog of features that were once unique but are now industry standards.

Tabs: One of the very first browsers to implement tabbed browsing.

Speed Dial: Invented by Opera, now a universal feature.

Mouse Gestures: Allowing users to navigate by holding the right mouse button and moving the mouse.

Pop-up Blocker: An early and effective built-in pop-up blocker.

Session Management: The ability to save all open tabs and restore them later.

Opera Mini’s Compression: Revolutionized mobile browsing for billions, making the web accessible on low-bandwidth networks.

Integrated Features: Modern Opera continues this trend with native ad-blocking, VPN, and AI chatbots.

Opera’s Impact and Market Position

The Engine Switch: The shift from Presto to Blink marked the end of an era for browser engine diversity but ensured Opera’s survival in a WebKit/Blink-dominated world.

Market Share: On the desktop, Opera holds a small but dedicated global market share (typically 2-3%). Its real strength has always been in niche markets and mobile.

Opera Mini’s Legacy: For years, Opera Mini was the internet for millions of people in Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe, defining their first experience of the web.

Opera GX’s Success: The launch of Opera GX demonstrated that there was still room for specialized browsers, capturing a loyal audience of gamers.

Conclusion

The history of Opera is a tale of two halves. First, as a plucky independent innovator that consistently pioneered features years before its giant competitors. It was a browser built on a “better, faster, smarter” philosophy.
Second, as a pragmatic Chromium-based browser that traded its unique engine for compatibility and survival, now focusing on layering innovative features on top of a stable, universal base. Despite the seismic shift in its core technology, Opera’s spirit of introducing useful, integrated tools—from Speed Dial to built-in VPNs—continues to define its role in the browser market today.