Arc aims to act as an "operating system for the web" and tries to integrate web browsing with built-in applications and features. These include a scrapbook-style "easel", and "boosts", a feature that lets users cosmetically redesign a website in a similar way to browser extensions.[7] The sidebar contains all of the browser's functionality besides the browsing window. Arc is based on Chromium[5][6] and is written in Swift. It supports Chrome browser extensions, and uses Google Search by default.
Arc has received coverage from several technology-focused media outlets, including The Verge, Ars Technica, How-To Geek and Engadget. Critics gave Arc a generally positive reception, citing the potential of new ideas and features the browser presents. However, most coverage added that the browser still needed polishing.[8][9]
Production and release
Arc was designed by The Browser Company, a startup company from New York City founded by Josh Miller and Hursh Agrawal in 2019.[10][11] The Browser Company has employees who have previously worked at other technology firms, including Instagram, Tesla, Medium and Google.[12]
The browser was released on 19 April 2022 via an announcement on Twitter.[13] It had previously undergone a beta test, with the roughly 100 testers involved[11] bound to a non-disclosure agreement.[14] Users are only able to use the browser after signing up to an Arc account with an email address.[15]
Design
Arc is designed to be an "operating system for the web", and integrates standard browsing with Arc's own applications through the use of a sidebar. The browser is designed to be customisable and allows users to cosmetically change how they see specific websites.[8][16]
Arc lets the user pick the color they want it to appear in (either a static color or a color gradient) during installation.[17] Speaking with Input magazine, Karla Cole (one of Arc's designers) stated that it's because the design team "wanted to play with the feeling you get as a movie opens".
Arc uses a sidebar to store all parts of the browser—including the search bar, tab list and bookmarks—aside from the viewing window.[15] The sidebar also contains controls for audio playback, which can be accessed while not using the tab playing the audio. This functionality also works with video call software, such as Google Meet.[10]
The search bar present in Arc, called Command Bar is similar in functionality and design to Apple's Spotlight feature. It can be used to search for websites and URLs as normal, as well as being able to pin tabs, duplicate tabs and access browser history.[15] Arc includes an optional built-in ad blocker (Ublock Origin), and The Browser Company claims it does not share user's search data.[19]
Tabs in Arc can be put into "spaces", organised tabs with separate areas that can be given different themes and browser profiles. Tabs in spaces can be put in a split-screen view with up to four tabs per window.[12] Tabs can also be pinned, which puts them in a labelled area in the sidebar. Unpinned tabs disappear after a period of time (which can be changed or disabled in settings)[8] but can be retrieved in Arc's "archived tabs" section.[15] Tabs can also be renamed.[16]
Arc includes several built-in applications, including an "easel" function, which can be used to collect webpage screenshots and URLs. The easel includes tools for typing and drawing. Easels can be kept private, shared with other people for collaboration or posted online. There was previously also a notebook function, which can be accessed from the search bar.[20][15] Aside from built-in applications, Arc also has integrations with other web applications, like Gmail and Google Calendar.[21]
Arc lets users customise how they see websites using its "boosts" feature. Originally added in July 2022,[22] boosts act similarly to browser extensions, but allow the user to fully customise their experience using CSS, HTML and JavaScript. A 2.0 update to boosts in 2023 added a simplified interface that allows the user to change website colors, change fonts and remove sections using the "zap" control. Boosts can be shared for use by other users as long as they do not use JavaScript, for security reasons. The Browser Company maintains a gallery of boosts they choose to display.[9][17]Engadget described this feature as allowing users to "vandalize" websites.[9]
Arc's "Air Traffic Control" feature lets users select which space a specific link will be opened at.[23] Users can create what's called a "route" that defines which space the link will be opened when the link is opened from an external source. The "Air Traffic Control" feature can be accessed and modified from the Arc settings → Links → Air Traffic Control.
In February 2024, The Browser Company announced the addition of three AI powered features. The first feature, "Instant Links", which was launched that same day, allowed users to instantly open multiple links by searching for the user's search query with AI, rather than having to go through a search engine to get to the pages.[24] The two other announced features, "Live Folders" and "Arc Explore" were not launched initially, with the former being released in April 2024, while the latter has no specified release date.[25][26]
The announcement also mentioned Arc Search, a new iOS app released four days prior. The app was originally pitched as a "doorman for the Web," automatically opening a search box. The app featured a "Browse for Me" feature that would use AI to read webpages related to the user's query to create a new webpage containing quotes, summaries, and embedded videos regarding the query. The app also shipped with a built in ad-blocker, which contains "always-on blocking of ads, trackers, GDPR popups, and banners."[27][28] Since then, additional features have been added to Arc Search, such as "Pinch to Summarize," where Arc Search can summarize webpages.[28] In May 2024 a feature named "Call Arc" was launched, allowing users to have a spoken conversation with an AI, mimicking a phone call.[29] The assistant answers the user's queries using search results from the web.
Security
In September 2024, a security researcher discovered a "catastrophic" vulnerability that would enable attackers to execute arbitrary code into any other users' browsing session with just a user ID.[30] This exploit has since been patched.[31]
Archie
Archie, the mascot of The Browser Company
Archie is the unofficial mascot of The Browser Company. The smile character is featured in Voice Search, Call Arc, Archie Bot, and Arc Browser promotional material.
Platforms
Arc is available for macOS as a universal binary, Windows 11 (built in Swift,[18] released on 30 April 2024) and Windows 10.[32] A stripped-down companion app with only the sidebar functionality was released for iOS on 30 March 2023.[33][34] Arc Search, the experimental Act II mobile browser, replaced that app as the only Arc mobile app on iOS in January 2024. In April 2024, Sidebar Sync for Arc Members was removed from the App Store, being fully replaced by Arc Search. As of October 2024, Arc Search is in public beta on Android, emails have been sent to invited participants for the beta, but has fully opened on Google Play.[35]
In February 2024, a stripped-down version of Arc Search containing only the "Browse For Me" feature became available on the Arc browser and other [which?] desktop browsers.
Arc for Windows is available on Windows versions 11 and 10, but does not support devices with ARM processors, or devices with processors older than Intel Haswell, AMD Athlon or AMD Ryzen. Support for ARM64 is currently under development.[36]
Reception
Arc has received generally favorable reviews from critics. How-To Geek gave the browser a 7/10, saying that "Arc has some excellent ideas and the confidence to lean into them [... but] feels like it needs a bit more polish to deliver a silky smooth browsing experience".[15] David Pierce of The Verge agreed and said that "Arc isn’t perfect, and it takes some getting used to. But it’s full of big new ideas about how we should interact with the web — and it’s right about most of them".[8] In an article published by Fast Company, Jared Newman called Arc the most polished of "all the attempts to reimagine the web browser".[14] In an episode, David Imel of the Waveform Podcast said it was a "new take on the browser".[37]
Chris Smith of BGR criticized the browser: "Arc is forcing you to create an account before you get to experience the browser at all. Google and Microsoft are dying for you to use their browsers while logged in. But they won’t force you to register an account if you don’t want to."[38]
Future
In a company-update video, posted October 25, 2024, CEO Josh Miller announced a planned, major-redesign of Arc, formerly-dubbed "Arc 2.0", had been put on-hold in favor of maintaining the current UI and feature-set. Specific Arc features -- "Sidebar", "Spaces" and "Pinned Tabs"—were particularly noted in the update-video as being ones users said they wanted Arc to retain when polled.[39]
Miller said that while "the Arc you know-and-love is not going anywhere; it's going to stay stable, secure, and performant" that the company feels a pivot to a new product, focused around LLMs (Large Language Models) and AI is more where the company should be heading. He said their new product, currently in the prototyping stages and with no name or release-date yet scheduled, will be aimed at helping users to "get [...] off your computer sooner" and will "meet you where you are, in those apps and files you use everyday".[39]
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