I guess the writing's on the wall for 32-bit architectures. It's not really surprising to me, since Ubuntu is stopping 32-bit versions of it's OS. Still, it's another sign of the times.
Phoronix article here, with lively forum discussion as well.
2017 could go down as the year that marked the descent of x86 32-bit support. Ubuntu 17.10 dropped their 32-bit desktop ISO, Ubuntu Server is now dropping their 32-bit installer, and more. Now NVIDIA Corp is announcing they are ending 32-bit support for their graphics driver.