Chrome dropping support for Windows 7
Google has announced that its Chrome 110 update — scheduled for release in February 2023 — will be the last to support Windows 7 and 8.1.
While it might not seem like a big deal as the operating systems (OSes) are relatively old, with Windows 7 first being released in 2009 and Windows 8.1 in 2013, the two OSes make up almost one in every ten Windows users in South Africa.
The tech giant said Chrome’s end of support for the OSes matches Microsoft’s end of support for Windows 7 ESU and Windows 8.1 extended, which is scheduled for 10 January 2023.
“If you are currently on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, we encourage you to move to a supported Windows version before that date to ensure you continue to receive the latest security updates and Chrome features,” Google said.
A recent MyBroadband analysis shows that, as of August 2022, the two OSes make up 9.91% of the South African Windows market share, with Windows 7 and 8.1 holding 7.16% and 2.75%, respectively.
Google specified that older Chrome versions would continue to work on these operating systems.
However, they will no longer receive updates, meaning a lot of people could soon be running both an unsupported operating system and an unsupported web browser, which could be a significant security risk.
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