Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox web browser, has decided to extend Firefox support on older Windows operating systems. It even went beyond Microsoft’s official support and shared a surprising update schedule for Firefox.
Windows 7 and Windows 8 support for Mozilla Firefox
Last month, Byron Jourdan, one of Mozilla’s product management team, shared the company’s roadmap for Windows 7 and beyond. He announced that they were planning to expand Firefox support. Jourdan confirmed that the extended support will also cover Windows 8 and 8.1.
Currently, extended support versions of Firefox only support Windows 7 until December 2023. However, Jourdan said Mozilla is considering supporting older OS versions for longer as long as usage remains high.
The extended support ensures that Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users get the latest features and remain safe from security vulnerabilities. However, Microsoft has not supported Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 for years. As a result, popular tools like Google Chrome have not received updates.
According to Statcounter data, Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 account for only 3 percent of the desktop market. However, Mozilla wants to retain users by extending Firefox support for devices running these systems.
The product manager noted that the end date for support has not yet been finalized, but that support will continue as long as measurable usage continues.
What do you think? How will Mozilla’s move affect Firefox performance? Let us know in the comments section below.
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