Chrome Cuts Off Support for Big Sur Macs This August

Google just gave Mac users on Big Sur a deadline.

Starting in August, Chrome will stop updating for macOS 11. Version 138, expected to hit this month, will be the last one to support Big Sur. After that, the internet's favorite browser will get no more patches, features, or bug fixes for older macOS devices.

The announcement came in a quiet note from the Chromium developer tracker: "Chrome 138 will be the last version to support macOS 11... For new installations of Chrome 139+, macOS 12+ will be required."

So if you're still running Big Sur, it's time to update your macOS. Unless your machine can handle Monterey or Ventura, though, you're out of luck.

Chrome won't stop working overnight. But it'll be stuck. without any new security fixes, performance updates, or support. It'll still work, but it won't let you see any new web content that it didn't already support.

macOS Big Sur Marked the Shift to Apple Silicon

Apple released Big Sur in 2020. It was the first macOS to support Apple Silicon, the first to ditch the "10.x" naming system, and the first sign Apple was steering the Mac closer to iOS. It still runs fine on a lot of older Intel machines, which is exactly why plenty of people never bothered to update.

But that grace period's over. Apple stopped shipping security patches for Big Sur last year. Chrome held on a little longer. Now that support's ending too.

Big Sur wasn't some fringe OS, either. It was the default on new Macs for over a year and marked Apple's big shift to Apple Silicon. Plenty of users stuck with it because it worked, and because upgrading macOS can be a gamble. Older apps break. Weird bugs show up. And let's be honest: not everyone's racing to install a big old update just to keep their browser happy. But now, skipping the upgrade means staying on a version of Chrome that won't stay relevant.

This follows the same pattern as before. In 2022, Chrome dropped Mojave and High Sierra. Each time, Google lags behind Apple by about a year, and each time, older Macs lose one more thing that still works.

If you can upgrade to Monterey, do it. If not, this may be Chrome's polite way of saying that your MacBook is too old. It won't force you off, but it also won't save you when something goes sideways.

And on the modern web, there's always something that does.