Opera

Opera is a web browser that was first publicly released by Opera Software in 1996. It is based on Chromium and thus uses the Blink layout engine.

Editions and features
Opera is available in a few different editions:
 * Opera browser: The stable edition of Opera intended for use of the public. Includes ad blocker, VPN service, WhatsApp Web, Facebook Messenger and Instagram integration (desktop only), as well as Speed Dial and a QR Code scanner (mobile only). With the Flow feature, the user can send webpages and messages from the desktop to the mobile browser and vice versa. For Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS, and Windows.
 * Opera beta: Same as the stable version but with decreased stability and reliability as there could be some bugs. Previously also called Opera Next.
 * Opera developer: Only intended for experimental use (Early Adopters), as this edition has the fewest stability. For macOS, Linux and Windows.
 * Opera Mini: Lightweight edition of the Opera browser for iOS and Android, uses the WebView engine on Android phones and the WebKit engine on iPhones instead of an own. No VPN service.
 * Opera Mini Beta: Pre-release edition of the aforementioned Opera Mini.
 * Opera GX: see sub-article on this page
 * Opera Neon: Former concept browser with a completely different UI. Development ceased.
 * Opera Touch: A smartphone-optimized edition of Opera for iOS and Android released in 2018. Main feature is the "Fast Action Button", which is the main control center of the browser and features one-handed navigation, however it can be disabled. Also includes a QR code scanner. Winner of the "Red Dot Design Award 2018". Opera GX for mobile devices has a similar interface.
 * Internet Channel: see sub-article on this page

Opera also created versions of Opera Mini and Mobile for other mobile OS such as Symbian, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, Blackberry OS, as well as feature phones. The Opera Mobile Emulator brought the mobile browser also to Windows. As of today, the development has been ceased for most OS, as they have been no longer supported by the manufacturer.

History
Opera 2.0 was the first version of the browser released to the public. Its predecessor, MultiTorg Opera 1, was only intended for internal usage.

Until Opera 5.0, the browser was available free as a 30-day trial. After the trial expired, the user was forced to pay for the browser to continue using it. With Opera 5.0, released in 2000, the browser was no longer tied to a trial. It has become free to use, however it showed banners with either text-based personalized ads by Google (which was an option in a later release) or a stock banner of Opera Software to pay for the ad-free edition.

Opera 8.5 got rid of the ads and is the first version to be offered as completely free.

Opera 9 was the first version available for the Nintendo Wii console as the Internet Channel.

Opera 12 was the first version available natively for 64-bit Windows and OS X. A native port for 64-bit Linux was already available earleir.

In 2012, Opera announced to rebuild the browser using Chromium and its the WebKit engine, and thus to stop development of the own proprietary Presto engine. Later, the Chromium development team decided to fork WebKit as Blink. The new Opera was released in 2013, but was criticized later for its lack of the ability of customization, as well as the lack of an native 64-bit version for Windows, since Chromium was not available natively for 64-bit Windows until 2014. The first native 64-bit version of Chromium-based Opera for Windows was released in late 2016. Opera still continued to maintain the older Presto-based browser with security patches until 2016 with the release of version 12.18. Hence 12.18 was released after Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, it still identifies the OS in the About tab as Windows 8 (NT 6.2)

Opera 76 is the first version of Opera that works with Macs with the Apple M1 SoC.

Opera GX
Opera GX is an edition of the Opera browser optimized for gaming. It was announced on 11 June 2019. Version 60.0.3255.50747 of the aforementioned date is the initial release of Opera GX for Windows, version 68.0.3618.206 of 23 July 2020 for macOS. Opera GX for Linux is still in development as of 2022. On 19 May 2021, Opera GX version 1.0.0 has been launched for Android and iOS. Unlike the Desktop versions, it is not based on the main Opera product, instead it is based on Opera Touch, a smartphone-optimized edition of Opera. Requires at least Android 7.1, OS X 10.11 or Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 and later.

Internet Channel
The Internet Channel is a version of the Opera 9 web browser for use on the Wii by Opera Software and Nintendo. Opera Software also implemented the Nintendo DS browser for Nintendo's handheld system.

Internet Channel uses an internet connection (set in the Wii Settings) to retrieve pages directly from a web site's HTTP or HTTPS server, not through a network of proxy servers as in Opera Mini products.

Internet Channel is capable of rendering most web sites in the same manner as its desktop counterparts by using Opera's Medium Screen Rendering technology.