Introduction
Yes, it's worth a full post on its use and what I think of it. Because for years now, between Chrome and its privacy, Firefox which has become a bit awkward and which doesn't interest me all that much in terms of web tools, I find it hard to find what I'm looking for, always switching between different browsers.
Let's just say I'm a bit picky when it comes to web browsers. I've tested Vivaldi, Opera, Brave, Edge and so on. But none of them really convinced me. So I decided to give Arc Browser a try. I like the fact that everything's synchronized, that the style isn't overly complicated, that navigation is fluid and that my privacy is preserved. In short, let's see what it's worth.
Approximate testing time: 6 months.
Distro: Windows 11.
Installation
Arc Browser is available on Windows, macOS and Linux (no, negative point). It's based on Chromium, so if you've already used Chrome, you won't feel out of place.
Installing it couldn't be easier: go to the official website and download the version corresponding to your operating system.
Arc from The Browser Company
Experience a calmer, more personal internet in this browser designed for you. Let go of the clicks, the clutter, the distractions.
arc.net
My impressions
👍 Positive points
- Design: I really like the minimalist, modern design. It's simple but effective.
- Practical: Quick to get to grips with, you quickly find your feet. I had a bit of trouble at first with the bookmarks and sorting out the ones I wanted to highlight.
👎 Negative points
- No Linux version: This is a big negative for me.
- At times, it crashes: I don't know what it's due to, it's totally random, at times I can't interact with the content of a page, obliged to restart Arc, or even kill the process.
- Catastrophic synchronization: I get synchronization errors between devices. I'm told it's because I'm on Windows. I don't mind, but if your product is distributed on Windows, you make sure it works properly. When you go to synchronize your Arc account on a new device, you won't have all your bookmarks and extensions. A waste of time.
- Abandoned project: I saw that the project hadn't been updated for a few months. It's a shame, because it had potential. And yes, you read that right, it was announced by the company behind it all called The Browser Company, the project is abandoned for their brand new toy called Dia (AI won't exist as an app. Or a button. We believe it'll be an entirely new environment - built on top of a web browser.)
Conclusion
I'm migrating to another browser, which one? I don't know at the moment, or else I've already found it, it all depends on when you read this article! 😀
I've tested it enough to give myself an opinion, I like it a lot, but the synchronization side and the abandoned project are holding me back. It's a shame, because it had potential.
What about you? Have you tested Arc Browser? What did you think of it? What browser are you using? Tell me on Discord, in comments or on social networks!
Top comments (12)
My tip is to split your web usage between browsing websites vs using web apps
To browse websites, you use your browser of choice like usual
To use web apps (email, calendar, whatsapp, telegram, chatgpt, discord, github, ...), you use Ferdium
ferdium.org/
I don't like to use multiple navigators, I think we already have a lot of software to do all this, which is not a very practical idea. I really like the fact that web apps are much more accepted and integrated on our browsers, we should continue like that, and Ferdium is good for that aspect!
I find the ladybird browser fascinating, obviously it's not ready to be used in the real world yet but a new engine is exciting.
Okay thank you for sharing that!
Edit: On the website, miss screenshots and more information about the browser, too bad
It's such early days at the minute that you still have to compile it yourself, so really not ready for anything other than contributing and enthusiasts.
Each month they upload a video, on youtube, showcasing what's changed that month.
I see that, thanks you!
I still use Chrome (yeah old me) and really like Brave (as an alternative). Abandoning Arc for Dia is insane, lots of people shared positive things about Arc.
yeah, sad news :c
Have you tried telnet on port 80 ?
aha nice joke!
Ah that's annoying
yeep :c