I ditched Google Chrome for the Arc Search browser; why you should too

When it was launched, Google Chrome sought to establish itself as a viable alternative to the laggy Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). By October 2009, just over a year since its launch, Chrome had managed to gain a 3.6 per cent user share. 

For the average user, it is easy to forget the Browser Wars of the noughts, a time when the upstart Mozilla Firefox went up against the giant that was IE and Google Chrome deciding to enter the fray with the intention of global domination. 

It took Chrome all of eight years to get there. By 2017, Google Chrome had captured 60 per cent of the market worldwide becoming the most preferred internet browser. Look around you and you’d rarely find someone who isn’t using Chrome as the default browser on their laptops and desktops. It’s become such an integral habit that most of us wouldn’t even consider switching our browser. Until now.  

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Meet the new Arc Search browser. Its standout offerings: a clean, minimalist UI, and AI-powered search. I tried the Arc Search browser on my iPhone 15 Pro Max and I’m ready to ditch Chrome for good. 

What is Arc browser?

A creation by The Browser Company, Arc Search is not just about fast page-loads. It’s a well put-together blend of aesthetics, features and actually handy UI elements, that make browsing more intuitive. Arc even brings AI summarisation into the picture, and you’d be surprised how useful AI can actually get when it’s in your browser. 

Here are the top features I loved about Arc. 

1. AI summarisation

While Arc lets you search across multiple engines including Google, a cool new feature, and the highlight of the iOS app, is the ability to amalgamate your searches from across multiple websites and deliver a compact summary. It’s like having ChatGPT with real-time data baked into your browser.  

This summary will also be divided into pointers, complete with relevant icons, while the results will be shown at the bottom of the page anyway. While you can use this feature to search about how tall the Burj Khalifa is, the real magic is when you ask the browser for opinions on things, like whether you should learn an acoustic guitar before moving to an electric one. Now, it can show you a summary with suggestions gathered from across the web.  

2. A clean, minimalist UI and customisable icons

Arc is also one of the cleanest browsers I have used. The features I actually use are here, but are also neatly tucked into relevant menus, rather than forcibly thrown at me. This actually lets you see a lot more of the page you’re on. 

Also, until iOS 18 comes out, customisation is still a pain on iPhones. While apps like Twitter, Duolingo or Telegram let you change the icons, they do require you to have a premium subscription. Arc, does not. 

Arc browser lets you choose from 12 options, including icons that fit in better with a light or dark theme. There are even some zany ones and a somewhat retro icon too.  

3. Card-style tab organisation

I was never a fan of tab organisation on any mobile browser, but Arc Search changes that. Tabs are laid out in the form of large, stacked individual cards. These look similar to the iOS recent apps screen, and also let you swipe up on the cards to close the tabs you don’t want.  

This is much more natural than the smaller card layout you see on Chrome or Safari, which now feels hilariously outdated. And yes, you can still swipe on the bottom bar in Arc to quickly switch between open tabs – in fact, with a better animation.  

4. Desktop sync and features

Arc is also available for Windows-based laptops and desktops, as well as for macOS, allowing you to use the browser on practically any mainstream platform, and keep everything synced together for seamlessly moving your tabs between devices. 

The desktop version of the Arc browser also comes with many features of its own, including a vertical tab organiser on the left instead of the top, neatly organised bookmarks and more. There are also a bunch of other, more powerful AI features under an experimental Arc Max banner that you can enable and access for free.  

Other cool features of the Arc Search browser

A small but handy addition on Arc Search is the setting that allows you to automatically open your keyboard when you open a new tab. This not only saves you that extra step of tapping on the search bar, but also feels more natural after you get a hang of it. It makes sense too, because why else would be on a new tab if not for searching for a new topic. 

You can also set all your inactive tabs to be archived automatically after 12 hours, a day, 3 days, 7 days or 30 days. This is great if you’re like me and often forget to close older tabs, only to find yourself in a sea of 100 tabs weeks later.  

Unboxed Take: Who should make the switch to Arc browser

Arc Search is a fresh take on browsers and is one of the better implementations of a tool that many of us use daily. If you’re someone who likes frequently surfing the web, we recommend you try it for a weekend before deciding if you want to switch (trust us, there are plenty of reasons to). 

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The AI summarisation that you can access by simply entering a search term and tapping on ‘Browse for me’ is the game-changer here. It lets the browser do the hard work for you and getting you the information you want quicker. All the other features I mentioned above, are just icing on the cake.  

However, you will miss the odd features that you may use on other browsers, like Chrome’s built-in credentials manager, or Safari’s ability to create strong passwords for you on the fly. If you can live without these, Arc might just change how you use browsers moving forward.