Still on Big Sur? Google’s Chrome Is Moving On
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If you’re a fan of Google’s Chrome browser and you’re still using an older Mac, it may be time to consider an upgrade, as Google has just announced that it will soon be dropping support for macOS 11 Big Sur.
Google shared the news today on its Chrome Platform Status page, noting that the current version, Chrome 138, will be the last to support Apple’s 2020 Mac operating system:
Chrome 138 will be the last release to support macOS 11; Chrome 139+ will no longer support macOS 11, which is outside of its support window with Apple. Running on a supported operating system is essential to maintaining security.
Granted, that will be a five-year-old version of macOS once Apple releases macOS Tahoe later this year. Apple ceased releasing security patches for macOS Big Sur in September 2023, with the release of macOS 11.7.10 and Safari 16.6.1. However, there are still a few older MacBooks, as well as two iMacs, for which Big Sur marked the end of the road.
Those are mostly Macs released in 2013 and 2014, including the mid-2013 and early 2014 MacBook Air, the late 2013 and mid-2014 MacBook Pro, and the mid-2014 and late 2014 iMac. The original 12-inch MacBook from 2015 was also left behind on Big Sur, and so was the mid-2015 27-inch iMac, oddly enough. However, the late 2014 Mac mini and 2013 “Trash Can” Mac Pro were able to be upgraded to macOS Monterey, as were all other 2015 models.
If your Mac was released in 2016 or later, you should be able to move beyond macOS Big Sur, so if you’ve been holding back on upgrading, it might be time to pull the trigger before the next release of Chrome arrives. All 2015 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models can also be updated to at least macOS 12 Monterey.
Chrome 139 went into beta on June 25 and is expected to be released by the end of July. However, folks on Big Sur won’t be receiving that update. Chrome 138 will “continue to work,” Google says, “showing a warning infobar,” and could eventually be prone to security problems. You’ll also lack the benefit of any new features that Google rolls into that and other future versions of Chrome.
Considering how many threats are present on the “World Wild Web,” it’s essential to run a browser that’s still getting security updates. If you’re stuck on Big Sur due to older hardware and unable to upgrade to a newer Mac, the good news is that Mozilla’s Firefox and Microsoft’s Edge continue to receive updates for older macOS versions.
Currently, Firefox 140.0.4 and Edge 128 both still support macOS 10.15 Catalina, which is a full year older than Big Sur. When Edge 129 arrives in September, it will raise the bar to Big Sur, but hopefully, support for that version won’t be dropped for a while.
Another option for those who are desperate to move on from Big Sur is the Open Core Legacy Patcher, which can inject missing drivers and patches to bypass the usual version checks and enable support for CPUs and other chipsets on older Macs. While it’s technically safe for the technically inclined who are willing to put in the effort, Apple doesn’t officially support this; some oddities may occur, and the installation process is not for the faint of heart.
