Google Chrome Users Running Windows 7 Or 8.1 Will Soon Need To Find A Fresher OS
Chrome is the most popular browser on the planet and we reckon there's a fair number of people surfing the web with it inside Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. Well, bad news for them—barring a last-minute reprieve, Google plans to sunset its Chrome browser on Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 with its version 110 release that's due out in a few months.
If you're affected by this, then heads up that Google is tentatively planning to roll out its version 110 release of Chrome on February 7, 2023. That will be the last official update to Chrome that you'll see on your platform. To continue receiving future releases with new features and security patches, you'll need to update your platform to Windows 10 or Windows 11.
"Older versions of Chrome will continue to work, but there will be no further updates released for users on these operating systems. 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 explains in a recently posted support document.
Google originally planned to end support for Chrome on Windows 7 on July 15, 2021. However, due in large part to challenges presented by the pandemic, Google ended up extending support. When it made the announcement in late 2020, Google noted that 22 percent of enterprise organizations had not yet migrated from Windows 7 to Windows 10.
At the time, Google committed to a minimum 6-month extension. With the new deadline announced, it amounts to over a year and a half from when Google originally planned to terminate support on Windows 7.
According to Statcounter, Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 account for just over 14 percent of all Windows installations. Meanwhile, the same market research firm pegs Chrome's footprint at 65.68 percent of all browsers. That figure climbs to over 70 percent if factoring in browsers that run on the same Chromium engine, such as Edge and Opera.
