Opera presents Early Bird mode in Opera One to test upcoming features
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Opera-QA-Team Opera last edited by@derschlingel: Thank you for your feedback about deprecating the Beta version of Opera and introducing the Early Bird program in the stable stream. We understand this is a significant change, and we want to clarify what it means for you.
First, this change will not impact the quality of the regular stable stream. The stable version remains our primary, fully tested release, and it continues to go through the same rigorous quality assurance, automated checks, and manual testing as before. Stability, performance, and reliability of the main browser remain our top priorities.
Second, the Early Bird program is entirely optional. It is meant for users who want earlier access to new features within the stable stream and are comfortable with the possibility of minor issues. If you prefer the most stable and predictable experience, you can simply stay on the regular stable version and ignore Early Bird.
Third, we are not removing our Developer stream. Opera Developer continues to exist as our earliest, most experimental channel, where new ideas and features are introduced and tested first. The new flow looks like this:
Developer → Early Bird (in stable) → Stable
By removing the separate Beta channel, we can shorten the time it takes to deliver product updates. Instead of maintaining three parallel consumer channels (Developer, Beta, Stable), we now focus on Developer for early experimentation and Early Bird within Stable for broader real‑world testing. This reduces duplication of work and allows improvements and fixes to reach all users faster, without lowering the bar for quality in the stable stream.We truly appreciate everyone who has used Beta over the years and helped us improve Opera. Your feedback remains crucial, and the combination of Developer + Early Bird is designed to keep that testing spirit alive while making our release process more efficient and responsive.
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Opera-QA-Team Opera last edited by
@rnghwdbcs: Thank you for your feedback about deprecating the Beta version of Opera and introducing the Early Bird program in the stable stream. We understand this is a significant change, and we want to clarify what it means for you.
First, this change will not impact the quality of the regular stable stream. The stable version remains our primary, fully tested release, and it continues to go through the same rigorous quality assurance, automated checks, and manual testing as before. Stability, performance, and reliability of the main browser remain our top priorities.
Second, the Early Bird program is entirely optional. It is meant for users who want earlier access to new features within the stable stream and are comfortable with the possibility of minor issues. If you prefer the most stable and predictable experience, you can simply stay on the regular stable version and ignore Early Bird.
Third, we are not removing our Developer stream. Opera Developer continues to exist as our earliest, most experimental channel, where new ideas and features are introduced and tested first. The new flow looks like this:
Developer → Early Bird (in stable) → Stable
By removing the separate Beta channel, we can shorten the time it takes to deliver product updates. Instead of maintaining three parallel consumer channels (Developer, Beta, Stable), we now focus on Developer for early experimentation and Early Bird within Stable for broader real‑world testing. This reduces duplication of work and allows improvements and fixes to reach all users faster, without lowering the bar for quality in the stable stream.We truly appreciate everyone who has used Beta over the years and helped us improve Opera. Your feedback remains crucial, and the combination of Developer + Early Bird is designed to keep that testing spirit alive while making our release process more efficient and responsive.
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Opera-QA-Team Opera last edited by
@max1c: Thank you for your feedback about deprecating the Beta version of Opera and introducing the Early Bird program in the stable stream. We understand this is a significant change, and we want to clarify what it means for you.
First, this change will not impact the quality of the regular stable stream. The stable version remains our primary, fully tested release, and it continues to go through the same rigorous quality assurance, automated checks, and manual testing as before. Stability, performance, and reliability of the main browser remain our top priorities.
Second, the Early Bird program is entirely optional. It is meant for users who want earlier access to new features within the stable stream and are comfortable with the possibility of minor issues. If you prefer the most stable and predictable experience, you can simply stay on the regular stable version and ignore Early Bird.
Third, we are not removing our Developer stream. Opera Developer continues to exist as our earliest, most experimental channel, where new ideas and features are introduced and tested first. The new flow looks like this:
Developer → Early Bird (in stable) → Stable
By removing the separate Beta channel, we can shorten the time it takes to deliver product updates. Instead of maintaining three parallel consumer channels (Developer, Beta, Stable), we now focus on Developer for early experimentation and Early Bird within Stable for broader real‑world testing. This reduces duplication of work and allows improvements and fixes to reach all users faster, without lowering the bar for quality in the stable stream.We truly appreciate everyone who has used Beta over the years and helped us improve Opera. Your feedback remains crucial, and the combination of Developer + Early Bird is designed to keep that testing spirit alive while making our release process more efficient and responsive.
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Opera-QA-Team Opera last edited by
@krishnakrverma: Thank you for your feedback about deprecating the Beta version of Opera and introducing the Early Bird program in the stable stream. We understand this is a significant change, and we want to clarify what it means for you.
First, this change will not impact the quality of the regular stable stream. The stable version remains our primary, fully tested release, and it continues to go through the same rigorous quality assurance, automated checks, and manual testing as before. Stability, performance, and reliability of the main browser remain our top priorities.
Second, the Early Bird program is entirely optional. It is meant for users who want earlier access to new features within the stable stream and are comfortable with the possibility of minor issues. If you prefer the most stable and predictable experience, you can simply stay on the regular stable version and ignore Early Bird.
Third, we are not removing our Developer stream. Opera Developer continues to exist as our earliest, most experimental channel, where new ideas and features are introduced and tested first. The new flow looks like this:
Developer → Early Bird (in stable) → Stable
By removing the separate Beta channel, we can shorten the time it takes to deliver product updates. Instead of maintaining three parallel consumer channels (Developer, Beta, Stable), we now focus on Developer for early experimentation and Early Bird within Stable for broader real‑world testing. This reduces duplication of work and allows improvements and fixes to reach all users faster, without lowering the bar for quality in the stable stream.We truly appreciate everyone who has used Beta over the years and helped us improve Opera. Your feedback remains crucial, and the combination of Developer + Early Bird is designed to keep that testing spirit alive while making our release process more efficient and responsive.
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DerSchlingel last edited by DerSchlingel@Opera-QA-Team Will this lead to the Chromium version in Opera stable being closer to the most recent Chromium in Chrome and Edge?
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rick2 last edited by
@Opera-QA-Team thaks for the respone, but I'm not worried about Stable (which I'll keep using as my main browser), just commenting that I'll stop (actually, I already have stoped) using Beta but don't want to switch to Developer as that is a bit too unstable for my taste.
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kabir96 last edited by
I use the stable version of Opera One installed in 'C:\Program Files\Opera' and a Opera Beta portable version in 'D:\Portableapps\Opera beta' when Open both of them together I Can distinguish them by looking their ICON on windows taskbar one is "classic red" another one is "black and white". Since the Opera Beta channel was discontinued in January 2026, I have replaced Opera Beta with portable installation of Opera One Stable at 'D:\Portableapps\Opera'. Now, the problem is when I use them together I Can't distinguish them by looking their ICON, both taskbar icons are red and identical. Please consider adding a feature to customize the browser's taskbar icon using .png or .ico files to help distinguish between multiple concurrent use.
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burnout426 Volunteer last edited by
@kabir96 Yes, that would be super cool. When Early Bird is on, at least as an option, change Opera's app icon (which would affect Opera's taskbar button too). Something to think about.
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burnout426 Volunteer last edited by
@kabir96 I assume the one in "C:\Program Files" has Early Bird off and the portable one on your D drive has Early Bird on?
