Google has decided to end support for the Chrome browser on Windows 7 PCs, in an effort to push users to upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system.
The American tech giant said in a post on the support page for the Chrome browser, Google Chrome Help, that with the approaching launch date of version 110 of the Chrome browser, which was initially set for February 7, 2023, “we are officially ending support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.”
Google added that users who want to continue to receive updates and future versions of Chrome browser should use Windows 10 or later.
According to the company, this end of support corresponds to the date that Microsoft itself will end support for Windows 7 ESU and Extended Support for Windows 8.1 scheduled for January 10, 2023.
Google clarified that older versions of Chrome will continue to work on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, but users will not receive updates to the browser after the release of version 110.
“If you’re currently using Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, we encourage you to move to supported versions of Windows before that date to ensure you continue to have the latest security updates and Chrome features,” the company said.
It is worth noting that the Chrome browser has dominated the Internet browser market for about 10 years, whether on desktop or mobile devices.
According to StatCounter, Chrome’s global share of the browsers market is 65.7 percent, so for both desktop and mobile devices, and for desktop devices only, the share rises to 67.34 percent.
According to the same website, the share of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 of the Windows browser market is more than 13%.
It is noteworthy that Microsoft had launched Windows 7 in 2009, and then ended support for it in early 2020, however, according to last year’s statistics, the number of devices that are still running this system exceeds 100 million devices.
