{"id":39266,"date":"2023-05-03T14:35:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T18:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=39266"},"modified":"2025-03-04T15:28:02","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T20:28:02","slug":"arc-browser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2023\/05\/03\/arc-browser\/","title":{"rendered":"Arc Browser"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matt Birchler<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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While Vivaldi targets people who want absolute control over everything and who always want more functionality, while Arc is more focused on appealing to Mac enthusiasts who want a reliable browser that looks great and sports all the keyboard shortcuts and advanced features if they want them. Oh, and a couple surprises you probably didn’t see coming on top of that.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Browser apps have used top navigation and tab organization since the invention of the Internet, so there are more than a few years of muscle memory to overcome. But with Arc’s vast keyboard shortcut support and the power of the left sidebar, a little practice inside Arc will pay dividends in short order.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

I was immediately turned off because when you launch the app you have to log in, and the “Why do I need an account?” help page talks about how they care about privacy but does not actually give any reasons why you need an account.<\/p>\n\n

Though still in limited beta—Mac-only—it already has support in 1Password, unlike<\/a> Orion<\/a>, which has been available to the public since 2021.<\/p>\n\n

David Pierce<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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Arc, the new browser from a startup called The Browser Company, is such a divergent idea about how browsers should work that it takes some time, and some real effort, to get used to.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Arc wants to be the web’s operating system. So it built a bunch of tools that make it easier to control apps and content, turned tabs and bookmarks into something more like an app launcher, and built a few platform-wide apps of its own. The app is much more opinionated and much more complicated than your average browser with its row of same-y tabs at the top of the screen.<\/p>\n

Another way to think about it is that Arc treats the web the way TikTok treats video: not as a fixed thing for you to consume but as a set of endlessly remixable components for you to pull apart, play with, and use to create something of your own.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Adam Engst<\/a> (Mastodon<\/a>, Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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I realize calling Arc “the most transformative app I’ve used in decades” is a bold statement that requires a lot of support. I won’t skimp on words in this article telling you why—it’s that important and requires new ways of thinking about how you work on the Web.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Space is a collection of tabs in the sidebar. The icons Arc uses to represent SpacesIt’s easy to switch between them using keyboard shortcuts (Control-1, Control-2, etc., or Command-Option-Left\/Right Arrow) or by clicking little icons at the bottom of the sidebar.<\/p>\n

You can assign each Space a color, providing an instant visual clue for what Space you’re in.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Arc lets you set up each Space with its own Profile<\/i>. In Arc’s world, each Profile maintains its own logins, history, saved passwords, extensions, and more.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Arc’s designers have thought deeply about how to help users create appropriate levels of persistence. In the process, they eliminated bookmarks entirely, replacing them with pinned tabs. (For performance reasons, Arc keeps only recently used pinned tabs active, so unused ones don’t consume more resources than a bookmark would have.) Both are just URLs under the hood, of course, so what makes eliminating bookmarks possible is Arc’s focus on its sidebar. The sidebar has sections for three levels of persistence: Favorites, Pinned Tabs, and Today.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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[Hursh Agrawal’s] tweet has a two-minute video<\/a> that outlines a tremendously ambitious plan:<\/p>\n