Flutter will no longer support Windows 7/8

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Kevin Chisholm

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Feb 15, 2024, 2:33:38 PMFeb 15

to Flutter Public Announcements (flutter-announce)

Dropping Support for Windows 7 and 8

As technology evolves, so do the platforms and tools we use to create innovative applications. In keeping with this progression, we must announce a significant change in Flutter's support for operating systems. With the release of Dart 3.3 and Flutter 3.19, we will officially cease support for Windows 7 and 8. This decision aligns with Microsoft's cessation of updates and security fixes for these versions in January 2020 for Windows 7 and January 2023 for Windows 8.

This decision was not made lightly. We understand the impact it may have on our developers who have been using these older versions of Windows for their Flutter projects. However, as Microsoft has ended its support, maintaining compatibility with these platforms becomes increasingly challenging, diverting resources away from improvements and features that benefit the broader Flutter community.

What This Means for Developers

Final Support Versions: Dart 3.3 and Flutter 3.19 will be the last releases supporting Windows 7 and 8. Future releases will focus on enhancing the Flutter experience on supported operating systems.

Pull Requests and Issues: To streamline our focus on advancing the Flutter ecosystem, we will no longer accept pull requests or address issues specific to Windows 7 and 8. We encourage our community to migrate to supported versions of Windows to continue benefiting from Flutter's latest features and updates.

Moving Forward

We recommend all developers to update their target OS to Windows 10 or later, ensuring access to the latest features, security updates, and overall improvements in the Flutter framework. Our documentation will soon be updated to reflect these changes, providing guidance and resources to assist you in this transition.

We are here to support you through this change. If you have any concerns or need assistance, please reach out to our community forums or support channels. Together, we'll continue to push the boundaries of what's possible with Flutter, building beautiful, natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase.

Thank you for your understanding and ongoing support as we make these necessary adjustments to keep Flutter vibrant, secure, and forward-looking.