Around 10% of Android devices will lose support for Google Chrome. The browser will no longer receive updates or security patches.
If you have an old Android smartphone or know someone who does, be careful. Google Chrome teams warn that the browser will no longer be supported on devices running Android 8.0 Oreo and Android 9.0 Pie with the next release.
Chrome 138 is the last update to support these versions of the mobile operating system. Starting with Chrome 139, scheduled for release on August 5, 2025, you will need a smartphone running Android 10 or later to receive app updates. Older versions of Chrome will continue to work, but users will miss out on new features and security patches.
Chrome support ends 10% of Android devices
According to the latest Android fragmentation figures, which date from the end of April 2025, Android Oreo (8.0 and 8.1) still runs on more than 4% of Android devices worldwide. For Android Pie (9.0), this rate rises to around 5.8%. When you combine the two, you see that nearly 1 in 10 Android phones are affected by the end of Chrome support.
In November 2023, Google Chrome had already stopped supporting Android 7.0 Nougat. Released in 2019, Android 10 is the next designated victim. But we can hope that the company chooses to ensure compatibility for a few more years for this version, while it is still installed on more than 10% of the world's Android devices.
To continue using Chrome with all its options and in complete security, you will need to update your device, or buy a new one if no update is available. Another solution is to switch to another web browser, which would still be supported. This is particularly true of Firefox, which remains compatible with all devices running Android 5.0 Lollipop or later. But keep in mind that while Chrome is still updated, such an old system is a sieve in terms of security.
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