For the past few months, my husband has kept recommending me the Arc browser, and let me tell you, I wasn’t looking forward to trying it. Switching to a new browser is a lot of work, and I’m lazy. But last week, we had a long weekend, and I was curious to see what all the fuss was about, so I decided to give it a go. I recorded the whole process, from downloading the app to organizing everything. It turned out to be more like a reaction video than an app review video; I hope you find it fun to watch.
After installing it, I started by importing my bookmarks and passwords from Chrome into Arc. This was the most crucial step for me because I didn’t want to get logged out of everywhere without knowing my password. But it was super easy and worked flawlessly. I then created profiles, allowing me to separate my personal and work browsing.
Next, I customized the theme to my liking. Spoiler alert; you can add noise to the sidebar! Living for the retro vibes.
Finally, I created spaces in Arc, like workspaces, to keep my tabs and windows organized based on different projects or activities. The whole thing took much less time than I thought. You can watch the whole process in action in the video below.
My first impression
First things first, it felt very innovative. It seemed like a breath of fresh air after getting use to similar-looking browsers for years. One experience that I really appreciated was that it’s easy to move tabs between profiles, unlike Chrome.
The Arc team’s attention to detail impressed me, from the fun nuances to the retro aesthetic. But it’s more than just a pretty face. It has some really cool features that make it stand out from the crowd. One of them is the split view. It allows me to view up to FOUR websites side-by-side, which is excellent for productivity. Using the built-in notes feature, I can also take notes directly within the browser. And if I need to draw or sketch something, I can use the Easel feature, which turns the browser window into a canvas.
The Previews feature is also great. You can view upcoming meetings and check email just by hovering over a tab. Not only those, some other apps such as Notion, Cron, and Zoom as well. No need to switch back and forth between different tabs and windows.
I found the Spaces feature very useful. I like to keep my tabs organized based on different projects or activities. For example, I have a separate Space for work-related tabs, another for personal browsing and one for content creation. This helps me stay focused and reduces clutter in my browsing experience.
Another cool feature is the Mini Player. If you’re someone who likes to multitask while watching or listening to something, you’ll love this feature. When you click away from a tab playing a video or audio, and you’ll notice a small controller appear in the bottom of the sidebar. This is a great feature for anyone who likes to have something playing in the background while they work or browse the internet.
As you can see, I’m sold. I’ve moved to Arc full-time since recording the video. It just feels like the future of browsing the internet. The only experience I wasn’t fond of was that links were opening in a “Little Arc” window, and I couldn’t figure out how to bring a specific window back or navigate around them. If you feel the same, you can uncheck the “Links from other apps open in Little Arc” option from the settings.
Overall, my experience with Arc has been great so far, and I encourage you to give it a try! If you’re interested, don’t forget to check out the video I made showing how I switched to it from Chrome.
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Thank you for reading, and I look forward to connecting with you soon!