As it concentrates its focus on Windows 10 and above, Google has stated that Chrome support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 would be discontinued in early 2023.
Google Chrome 110 will mark the end of support for earlier versions of the Windows operating system, according to a post on the company’s support page(opens in new tab) headlined “Sunsetting support for Windows 7 / 8.1 in early 2023.”
According to Statcounter(opens in new tab), the browser that presently accounts for around two-thirds of the desktop market is anticipated to launch in version 110 on February 7, 2023, subject to modification. This gives many users little over three months to upgrade their operating system.
In January 2020, Microsoft stopped providing extended support for Windows 7, switching to a three-year extended security update (ESU) cycle that would conclude in January 2023, coinciding with Google’s intention to discontinue support for the operating system.
In January 2023, Windows 8.1 will no longer get security updates and will thus approach the end of its support lifetime.
The consequences of this ostensibly negative news could be expensive for consumers who would have to pay to upgrade their Windows OS while still struggling to make ends meet. In September 2022, 13.31% of all Windows users were still running version 7 or 8.1, while 13.61% were using the most recent version of Windows 11, according to Statcounter(opens in new tab).
Crucially, historic versions of Google Chrome will remain in operation for users who continue to use these soon-to-be deprecated operating systems, though “there will be no further updates released” which may put users at risk.
