Just this week, Google revealed that in early 2023 it would stop supporting Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 for the Chrome browser. Windows 7 is already classed as unsupported and has been for a while. Windows 8.1 will be officially unsupported on 10th January 2023.
However, despite both operating systems being classed as unsupported, Mozilla – the company behind the Firefox browser is considering whether to not to continue support for the two old operating systems. As of October 2022, Windows 7 still has a 15.1% market share, with Windows 8.1 at 2.8%. A developer from Mozilla said that ending support for them might not be a good option, given the current economic issues.
Ending support or Windows 7 and 8.1 would make devolvement more streamlined for Firefox, having to support less operating systems. However, users still on the two operating systems might move to other browsers, if Mozilla decides to pull the plug.
Mozilla is still in the process of extending support or not. Even if it does do that, it might only be until June 2023 which is only a few months longer than Chrome. However, users on Windows 7 should have moved on to newer versions ages ago, as support ended in 2020. Windows 8.1 support ends in January 2023.
