Google to stop Chrome updates for older Android versions: Should you be worried?
Google has annonced that it will be ending support for its Chrome browser on a few older Android devices in the coming weeks. The announcment was made via a Google support page which states that Chrome will now require Android 10 or higher to work, meaning that older Android versions like Android 8.0 (Oreo) and Android 9.0 (Pie) will not get support from early August this year.
The new support policy will kick in from first week of August with the release of Chrome 139 update on Android. The good news, however, for the older Android users is that even though Google Chrome will no longer serve any new updates, the older version of the browser will continue to remain operational.
While the browser would stop working at some point in the future that date is still months if not years away.
In a support page about the new changes, Google said, 'Chrome 138 is the last version of Chrome that will support Android 8.0 (Oreo) and Android 9.0 (Pie). Chrome 139 (tentatively scheduled for release on August 5th, 2025) is the first version of Chrome that requires Android 10.0 or later. You'll need to ensure your device is running Android 10.0 or later to continue receiving future Chrome releases.'
'Older versions of Chrome will continue to work, but there will be no further updates released for users on these operating systems. If you are currently on Android 8.0 or Android 9.0, we encourage you to move to a supported Android 10.0 version (or newer) to ensure you continue to receive the latest security updates and Chrome features.'
According to t Android distribution numbers till April 2025, Android 9 currently runs on 6% of Android devices while Android 8 and Android 8.1 run on around 4% of the devices. While 10% is still a lot of people to be left behind, these Android versions have already run the end of their cycle. For instance, Android 8 was first released in 2017 while Android 9 was released in 2018, marking 8 and 7 years since the first time these versions were released.
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