Opera 26 Stable for Linux now available
Phew, that took a long time. When Opera Software announced the switch from its own browsing engine to Chromium users noticed immediately that many things were not as they were before.
The browser itself lacked a lot of features including syncing, bookmarks, themes, customization options, preferences and a lot more. On top of all that, it was only released for Windows and Mac OS systems and not for Linux.
This changed earlier this year when Opera started to release development versions for Linux.
Today, the company announced that Opera for Linux is available as a stable version as well now.
Opera 26 is available for all supported operating systems, meaning Windows, Mac and Linux as of today. Linux support is without doubt the big new feature in Opera 26 even though it is not the only one.
Bookmarks can now be imported from other browsers and shared for example. We have reviewed the development release of Opera 26 in September and suggest you check out the in-depth review if you are interested in a detailed review.
The Linux version of Opera 26 offers the same features as the versions of the browser for Windows and Mac according to Opera Software
Linux users can download Opera Stable from the official download page or use the download links posted on the Opera Desktop Team blog linked above.
Limitations
The following limitations apply:
- Opera for Linux is only available for 64-bit and not 32-bit Linux installations.
- The release has been optimized for Ubuntu. There is an unofficial install document that describes how to install Opera on other distributions.
- Package managers may show conflicts when you try to install Opera 26 with Opera 12.16 installed on the system. Users who want to keep both can uninstall Opera 12.16, install Opera 26, and then install 12.16 using the tar package option.
Additional information about Opera Stable for Linux are available on this FAQ page.
The release of Opera Stable for Linux marks the end of a long period of uncertainty for Linux users who had only two options up until now: stay on Opera 12.xx or use one of the beta or development versions of the new Opera browser instead.
Now you: With Linux support finally available, what should be the next development focus?
I second the suggestion that Opera should try to differentiate itself from Chrome. Then it should at least still support the 12.xx line. And perhaps try to update its standalone mail client (support smime!).
opera 26 stable version for windows is too slow for windows 8 64 bit, fast at start up but start up pages are too slow and connection to the net is even slower even turbo is on. i removed it and search for alternatives. i thought there are improvements but only disappointed
The windows installers has an portable option maybe the linux version too?
Thanks, I didn’t see that option.
It’s good to see Opera has a Linux version again. But more important is that with the 26 version Opera is on the right track. Finally you can import your bookmarks from a html file!! This is the first time I didn’t uninstall a new version of Opera within 10 minutes after installing. I am going to try out this version.
So what should be the next goal for Opera? A portable version?
The developers should focus on adding features that can differentiate Opera from Chrome. Otherwise there is little hope that Opera will become more than it always was: a niche browser.
Hmm… As long as they are profitable, why should they care how big they are? I personally value stability over growth, and that’s what Opera should really be thinking about. Too many Opera users got turned off in the last year or so by decisions the Opera team made. I have a close friend who was one of the original die-hard Opera users, and he switched to Firefox out of frustration. Anyway, I welcome the Linux availability: step in the right direction.
I believe that it matters for them, otherwise why would they switch to WebKit engine? Opera before version 13 was different than the rest of the browsers, and that was its advantage. But right now they are nothing more than a Chrome clone.