Opera Mobile Now Supporting Extensions

Opera Software back in October 2010 added support for extensions to the web browser. Before that, Opera only supported widgets which were standalone programs that ran in their own window. With extension support included in recent versions of the Opera desktop browser, came the usual assortment of extensions for all kind of purposes. From appearance and accessibility related extensions to news, social and tools.

Some time later, speed dial extensions were introduced that made use of new dynamic options on the browser's Speed Dial page.

Up until now, extensions were only supported by desktop versions of Opera, and not the mobile versions of the Internet browser.

Opera Mobile Extensions

This is changing now with the release of a version of Opera Mobile with extensions support. The released version is a labs build, and Opera notes that it is an early build, and that it is not "quite certain at this point that extensions functionality will effectively make it into future releases of Opera Mobile".

Extensions support is not finalized yet in the test version, and it is likely that we will see new releases in the near future that are more polished than the initial release.

Only Opera Mobile on Android is currently available with extensions support when it comes to mobile device support. Opera users without Android smartphone can download a special version of the Opera Mobile Emulator for Windows, Mac or Linux to test the functionality in the emulator instead.

Mobile extensions for Opera come with a few known issues currently that limit the functionality somewhat:

• Speed Dial extensions are currently not supported
• Popup windows are launched in new tabs instead, which may limit the extensions' functionality
• Extensions that rely on mouse or keyboard may not work as expected
• Buttons may be blurry on high DPI screens

Extensions can be installed at the official Opera Extensions Gallery on the Opera website. Opera Mobile users find all installed extensions with a click on the Extensions icon in the Opera menu in the browser. Here it is then possible to disable or uninstall extensions, or access the extension settings if provided. There is also an option to install extensions from a local source.

While not 100% clear that extensions will be supported in stable versions of Opera, it is likely that we will see support added eventually if the devs do not run into critical issues along the way.

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