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Why 152.0.5 win64 installer SIGNIFICANTLY larger than win32 installer? >115.16esr on Windows 10 warning?

Firefox ESR
James replied
neijyry
neijyry

Up until version 141, the difference between 32 bit and 64 bit Firefox installers wasn't noteworthy, though it has clearly been slowly increasing overtime. However, starting from version 141, the difference between them doubled from 5MB to 10MB, meaning a nearly 13.5% larger installer for the 64bit version than the 32bit one.

Why is that? What happened? Are there are feature differences that would warranty such a large gulf in their installer sizes? It's the AI isn't it? 32bit users were spared the bloat of the AI.

I also see that starting from 115.16 Firefox suggests users that aren't on Windows 7-8.1 or MacOS 10.12-10.14 should use other versions. Given both x86 and Windows' immense reputation surrounding backwards compatibility, is this really a concern? Is there REALLY something supported by Windows 7-8.1 that wouldn't function on 10?

Up until version 141, the difference between 32 bit and 64 bit Firefox installers wasn't noteworthy, though it has clearly been slowly increasing overtime. However, starting from version 141, the difference between them doubled from 5MB to 10MB, meaning a nearly 13.5% larger installer for the 64bit version than the 32bit one. Why is that? What happened? Are there are feature differences that would warranty such a large gulf in their installer sizes? It's the AI isn't it? 32bit users were spared the bloat of the AI. I also see that starting from 115.16 Firefox suggests users that aren't on Windows 7-8.1 or MacOS 10.12-10.14 should use other versions. Given both x86 and Windows' immense reputation surrounding backwards compatibility, is this really a concern? Is there REALLY something supported by Windows 7-8.1 that wouldn't function on 10?

All Replies (2)

Paul
Paul
  • Top 25 Contributor
  • Moderator

Hi

In the last three years, Firefox has gained quite a few new features and improvements (not all of them AI related) that may have increased the size of the installer.

The older versions of Windows and macOS that you mention are noonger supported by Microsoft and Apple. Firefox ESR 115 is provided purely to help people to keep a basic level of web access and updating to a more recent supported version of those operating systems is strongly recommended.

James
James
  • Moderator
  • Top 10 Contributor

said
I also see that starting from 115.16 Firefox suggests users that aren't on Windows 7-8.1 or MacOS 10.12-10.14 should use other versions. Given both x86 and Windows' immense reputation surrounding backwards compatibility, is this really a concern? Is there REALLY something supported by Windows 7-8.1 that wouldn't function on 10?

Firefox 116.0 and later requires Windows 10, 11 and macOS 10.15 or later to run.

The older Firefox 115 ESR based on the old Firefox 115 Release was originally going to end as of Fx 115.15.0esr but then Mozilla decoded to give the EOL Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and macOS 10.12, 10.13, 10.14 OS users a web browser that was still secure to use as Chrome/Chromium browsers ended support in early 2023.

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