Microsoft Corporation 406,32 +7,28 +1,82% is being very firm they will end support for both Windows 7 and 8 come January 2023 Patch Tuesday (January 10, 2023). This also means no longer offering updates for their Edge Browser beyond this point. Google Inc. 159,92 +1,97 +1,25% had already announced Chrome would stop supporting Windows 7 and 8 in mid-January 2023.
The end-of-support date for Edge coincides with the end of security update support for both Windows 7 and Windows 8 on January 10, and the end of Google Chrome support for Windows 7 and 8 in version 110. Because the underlying Chromium engine in both Chrome and Edge is open source, Microsoft could continue supporting Edge in older Windows versions if it wanted, but the company is using both end-of-support dates to justify a clean break for Edge.
If you thought that Windows 7 had already stopped getting security updates, you’re not wrong. Most people stopped receiving general-purpose security updates for Windows 7 back in 2020, around a decade after its original release. But because Windows 7 was so popular with businesses, Microsoft took the unusual step of offering three additional years of optional, paid update support for the operating system. Those updates are ending now, too; a similar program is not being offered for the significantly less popular Windows 8, which is just past its 10-year anniversary.
It is important to understand this does NOT mean Windows 7 and 8 will stop working nor does it mean you can no longer use Chrome or Edge. It simply means the operating system and browsers will no longer receive security updates and patches. While this might push a few more people into upgrading to Windows 10 or purchasing a Windows 11 machine, it is not going to cause a massive push. There are still people running Windows XP for various reasons the main one being they have hardware that is not supported with newer versions of Windows such as Windows 7 or 10). Some Windows 7/8 users simply don’t want to go to Windows 10 especially when Microsoft sneakily tried to force people to do so a few years back or they assume Windows 10 also used the same ‘Metro’ (tile) interface Windows 8 had. Others don’t like having to have a Microsoft account (though Apple Inc. 169,30 -0,59 -0,35% does the same thing with iOS) to use Windows 10/11 (there are ways to setup and use a local account). Finally others are annoyed with all the ‘ads’ Microsoft is adding on Windows 11.
via ARS Technica
