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| Google is finally retiring support for outdated operating systems, like Windows XP |
GOOGLE will retire Chrome support for older Windows and Mac OS releases in April 2016.
Google has announced it will end support for its hugely popular Chrome browser on some older operating systems by April 2016.
Windows Vista, Windows XP, OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, OS X 10.7 Lion and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will no longer be supported.
The April 2016 deadline is actually an extension to the lifecycle of Google Chrome on Windows XP.
Google announced in October 2013 that support for Chrome on XP would end by April 2015, before pushing that deadline back to December 2015.
End of support does not mean Google Chrome will stop working on these older operating systems.
Instead, it means the Google browser – which has this infamous hidden feature – will no longer receive crucial security updates and patches.
Google explained “such older platforms are missing critical security updates,” “have a greater potential to be infected by viruses and malware,” and “are no longer actively supported by Microsoft and Apple.”
After April 2016, if you want the latest security updates and features in Chrome – you’ll need to upgrade your operating system.
Microsoft retired Mainstream Support for Windows XP on April 14 2009 and Extended Support on April 8 2014.
That means Google will be providing support for Windows XP for two years longer than Microsoft itself.
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Why such a long extension to the lifecycle of the out-dated operating system?
Well, Windows XP still accounts for an 11 per cent market share online, according to data from Net Applications last month.
But despite the healthy market share, Microsoft does allow XP users to upgrade their web browser to anything more recent than Internet Explorer 8.
As a result, many Windows XP users have turned to third-party browsers, like Chrome, which still offer security and feature updates.
But even with an up-to-date Google Chrome browser – using an unsupported operating system like Windows XP is a poor security choice.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has seen poor uptake of its new and minimal Internet Explorer replacement, Microsoft Edge.
The touchscreen-friendly web browser is only used by some 12 per cent of Windows 10 users.
Google Chrome is used by a staggering 70 per cent of users, according to research by San Francisco-based firm Quantcast.
Software Engineer Jackson Newhouse, of Quantcast said: "The wide release of Windows 10 did initially bump Edge’s market share from 12 per cent to 16 per cent.
"However, this increase was temporary, with Chrome recovering from temporary losses and reaching over 70 per cent market share of Windows 10, higher than the 63 per cent it pulls in on Windows 7 and 8.
"More and more users are using Windows 10 every day, and most have shifted off of the old Internet Explorer.
"However, that movement hasn’t entirely been towards Edge, with a number of users choosing Chrome instead.
"Microsoft may be able to make further inroads into the browser market with Edge, but it’ll take more than a new operating system to unseat Chrome’s dominance."
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| Google's Chrome browser is still the most popular tool to browse the web on Windows 10 |
For example, Edge does not currently support add-ons – something Microsoft has promised to fix as soon as possible.
A number of requested features, bug fixes and visual updates are due to arrive alongside a major update to Windows 10, dubbed Threshold, which is believed to roll out later this month.
Windows 10, which unites the Microsoft ecosystem across a host of devices including smartphones, tablet and desktops PC, first rolled out back in July.
The Microsoft OS saw huge adoption within the first few hours of its release – but the new operating system has not been without issues.
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