Firefox finally pulls support for Windows 7, 8, so update now
If you’re still on Windows 7 or 8, this is your final Firefox warning
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Mozilla has announced details of its latestFirefoxrelease, version 115.0, and alongside a handful of new features and under-the-hood tweaks, the developers also issued a stark warning toWindows 7and 8 users.
Referring toMicrosoftdropping support for Windows 7 andWindows 8in January 2023, Mozilla confirmed that Firefox 115 would be the finalbrowserversion to support the deprecated operating systems.
At the same time, Mac users were faced with a similar warning about macOS 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14, otherwise known as Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave.
Firefox kills off support for old OSs
Instead, users running the previous versions of the popular browser will be migrated over to the Extended Support Release (ESR) version, which will still provide security updates.
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Fortunately, the Windows 7 market share has dropped substantially since the beginning of the year, when it was hovering around 10%. Now, it accounts for around 3% of Windows instances, according toStatcounter.
The famously unpopular Windows 8 represents just 1% of all Windows downloads, so together, fewer than one in 20 Windows users will be affected. Moreover, Firefox accounts for around 6% of all desktop browser sessions.
To use Firefox 116 to its fullest, users will now need to useWindows 10or 11, or macOS Catalina or newer.
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Googlealready issued the same warning to Chrome users, when in October 2022, it announced that Chrome 110 (which launched in February 2023) would drop support for the legacy OSs.
Moving forward, Firefox 115 which launched on July 4 has added improvements to migrating payment methods from other Chrome-based browsers to Firefox, tweaked the Tab Manager, and made changes to video decoding.
The full release notes and details ofoperating systemsset to be dropped with Firefox 116 are available on theMozilla website.
With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!
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