Google Chrome occasionally discontinues support for older operating systems, most likely due to dwindling user numbers making the development expenses unfeasible. We found out this month that Chrome 139 will no longer support Android 8.0 Oreo and Android 9.0 Pie, two outdated Android versions. It now looks like Chrome's support for macOS 11 will also be discontinued with this release.
Chrome 138 will be the final browser version to support macOS 11.0, according to a post on the Chrome Platform Status website. In June 2020, this operating system—also referred to as Big Sur—was launched, and in November of the same year, it was made available worldwide. In 2021, macOS 12 Monterey took its place, and in November 2023, Apple discontinued support for the operating system.
Google does point out in its release notes for Chrome 139 (which is anticipated to be available on July 30) that Apple has discontinued support for Big Sur, meaning that Chrome will continue to support the OS for nearly two more years. The business emphasizes how crucial it is that Chrome be used on an OS that is compatible. Chrome won't get any new features, security fixes, or upgrades on macOS 11 Big Sur, but it will still function.
Nevertheless, it's worth noting that Chrome 139 now requires at least macOS 12 Monterey, which was no longer supported nearly a year ago. The fact that the macOS 11 Big Sur end of support page hasn't been updated in a month is another intriguing finding. A notice on the page specifically for this removal states that "This feature hasn't been verified as accurate since last month, but it is scheduled to ship in 2 weeks."
Running operating systems that are supported by their respective suppliers is crucial for consumers in any case. macOS 13 Ventura, macOS 14 Sonoma, and macOS 15 Sequoia are the current supported versions.