As part of its effort to consolidate its focus on Windows 10 and later versions of the operating system, Google has stated that it would stop providing support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 at the beginning of 2023.
In a post titled “Sunsetting support for Windows 7 / 8.1 in early 2023,” which can be found on the company’s support page (opens in a new tab), a Chrome Support Manager explains that the release of Google Chrome 110 will result in the conclusion of support for older versions of the Windows operating system.
According to Statcounter (opens in new tab), version 110 of the browser currently accounts for approximately two-thirds of the desktop market and is currently expected to launch on February 7, 2023, subject to change. This will give many users a little more than three months to upgrade their operating system before the new version of the browser is released.
Chrome is available for Windows 7 as well as Windows 8.1.
Extended support for Windows 7 was discontinued in January of 2020 when the firm shifted to its three-year extended security update (ESU) term. This time is scheduled to conclude in January of 2023, which is also the month that Google plans to stop providing support for the operating system.
The end of life for Windows 8.1 will occur in January 2023, when it will no longer get security updates or technical support and will no longer be supported by Microsoft.
Consumers, who are already struggling to make ends meet due to rising costs, may be forced to shell out additional money in order to upgrade their version of Windows Operating System as a result of the repercussions of this seemingly negative news. 13.31% of all Windows users were still using versions 7 or 8.1 in September 2022, according to Statcounter (opens in new tab), compared with 13.61% who were using the most recent version of Windows 11.
It is also important to note that older versions of Google Chrome will continue to function normally for users who continue to make use of operating systems that will soon be phased out. However, “there will be no further upgrades supplied,” which may put users at risk.
