The problem remains that the new Opera lacks features which the users want. Many people simply stick with their browser because that is what they always used, including me. I liked old Opera and I want to see the new Opera re-implement the core Opera experience: depth of features and customization. I don't really care that much about the engine behind it as long as it allows me to do what I want to do how I want to do it.
Now I look at Opera and I see that it allows me to do most basic things which I need to do but I don't think that is enough to gain new users and it will leave older users like me very sad. There are other browsers out there which do the exact same thing and most people will choose one of the others. Do you really think the average user will choose Opera? No, they use Chrome or Firefox or IE. Admittedly this is because most people don't spend any amount of time on researching what the different browsers offer, they just use the most popular or familiar one. But if we look at those people that matter for Opera, people who look at all the browsers and what they offer to decide which one to use, then what is there about Opera that would make people use Opera over Chrome? "It's not Google." is the only one I could think of. And Firefox? I don't really know.
And if we take a look at those who chose to stay like me then we see that many of them are really only one or two steps away from switching because honestly we are only staying here because we liked old Opera and because new Opera is still okay as a browser, nothing out there which is so much better that I would switch. But take one or two broken things and those people are gone.
While Opera is still not up to par with old Opera it also is lagging behind Chrome and every time I run into a feature that does not work in Opera I get a little bit more annoyed and a little bit closer to just switching to Chrome completely. Recent example: HTML5 video support on YouTube with regards to h.264 licensing and MSE for the DASH player.
And I don't even know if Opera is aware of this or if they want or can do anything about it. If I were certain that they would solve it I would be able to endure it more easily but like this I might just one day say "Fuck it I don't know why I'm doing this to myself, there it nothing about Opera that I could not get elsewhere and plenty of things that I don't get from Opera at all." and then I'm gone.
Opera has what kind of marketshare? Less than five percent?
At some point the Opera team should stop for a minute and ask themselves "Why Opera instead of a different browser?". And I give you a hint: Some marketing buzzwords about speed and stuff is not the answer.
Take a look at the website and how Opera advertises itself. Take a look at every other browser's advertisement. They spew the same buzzwords but people actually have heard about them. If you present people with a choice between different free products which are mostly the same they will always choose the one that they are more familiar with.
Do something Opera team and please offer a reason why you should exist because currently I can't find anything but the hope that you might return to your former glory and that is declining with every single day of uncertainty and compatibility problems.