Google announced that it will drop support for 32-bit version of Linux, Debian 7 (Wheezy) and Ubuntu 12.04 (Precise).
In a Chromium-dev group post on Tuesday, Dec. 1, Google software engineer Dirk Pranke stated that Mountain View will drop support for Google Chrome on the aforementioned operating system versions. The company will cease to provide security fixes and updates for Google Chrome browsers installed on the said platforms starting March 2016.
"To provide the best experience for the most-used Linux versions, we will end support for Google Chrome on 32-bit Linux, Ubuntu Precise (12.04), and Debian 7 (wheezy) in early March, 2016," says Pranke.
Chrome will still work on the aforementioned platforms, but it won't get new updates and security fixes.
While this kind of news is always saddening, many see it as justified. Most of the hardware released within the past few years can support 64-bit operating systems. Moreover, the recent news is just an addition to Google's earlier announcement of ending the support Windows XP, Windows Vista, OS X 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8.
Those who want to stick to their current 32-bit systems and have grown accustomed to the perks of Google Chrome can have a similar experience with Chromium, the open-source project on which Google Chrome is based on.
"We intend to continue supporting the 32-bit build configurations on Linux to support building Chromium," Pranke adds, while encouraging Ubuntu Precise users to upgrade to the much newer Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty version.
Do note that while Chromium offers most of what Chrome does, including the syncing of Google accounts, it will not have the closed-sourced features of Chrome. MP4 (H.264) support, integrated Flash plug-in and MP3 media are some of what will be missing when shifting to Chromium. Of course, there are always other browsers. Firefox will always welcome users.
However, Google Chrome browsers on 32-bit systems will not stop functioning once they lose support. They just won't receive any more updates.
