PSA: Google Chrome 151 to drop support for macOS 12 Monterey

Google has officially confirmed that Chrome 151 will end support for macOS 12 Monterey, marking a significant shift for users still running Apple's 2021 operating system. This announcement comes directly from Google's Chrome Platform Status blog, which details the upcoming changes to browser compatibility.

Starting with Chrome 150, Monterey users will see a warning infobar notifying them that their browser version won't update further. More critically, Chrome 151 and beyond will be completely incompatible with macOS 12 Monterey. This cutoff means Monterey users will miss:

• Critical security patches
• Vulnerability protections
• Performance improvements
• New browser features

Google explicitly states that "running on a supported operating system is essential to maintaining security," emphasizing the increased risk exposure for users who continue running unsupported software. The timing aligns with Apple's own support lifecycle. macOS Monterey (version 12) received its last security update in July 2023, putting it outside Apple's official support window.

For timing context, Chrome currently sits at version 143. With Google's typical 4-week release cycle for major versions, Chrome 151 should arrive approximately 32 weeks from now – placing the cutoff around late August 2026. This gives Monterey users about eight months to either upgrade their macOS version to Ventura (13) or Sonoma (14), or switch to a browser that still supports older systems.

While Safari continues to run on Monterey, third-party browsers like Firefox haven't announced similar deprecation plans yet. However, Google's move signals an industry trend toward requiring newer OS foundations for modern web security standards. This transition also highlights Apple's ecosystem considerations, as older Macs incapable of upgrading beyond Monterey will effectively lose access to Chrome's evolving feature set and protections.