It just didn’t gel with me - I found it much more opinianted than any other browser I tried.
There’s an apparent lack of truly separate workspaces or profiles but more than anything I couldn’t use Kagi for search which makes it a non-starter for me.
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I’ve used Arc for years, but when they stopped updating it with new features, I started looking for a new browser. I switched to Safari for a few months, but some tools didn’t work so well like Salesforce, which we use a lot at work. So, I (reluctantly) moved to Chrome wasn’t thrilled about it because of privacy concerns, but it worked great! Still, I really missed vertical tabs and workspaces, which led me to try out Edge.
And honestly? I’m super happy with Edge! It’s the closest thing to Arc without actually going back to Arc.
Workspaces: I’ve got several I switch between, kind of like Spaces in Arc (minus containers). You can’t have separate logins like you can in Arc, but it still helps keep things organized.
Tab groups: Super handy for bundling a bunch of tabs together.
Vertical tabs: I mean, do I even need to explain this one?
With a bit of tweaking, Edge is probably the closest you’ll get to an Arc-like experiencds at least on the Chromium side of things.
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Any thoughts on Brave?
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Brave used to be my primary browser. I switched away from it because it didn’t have vertical tabs, if I am remembering correctly. My current needs include having separate spaces, and I don’t think it does those natively.
At the time, the ad blocking in Brave was better than anything out there. If it did vertical tabs and separate browsing spaces, I would almost certainly switch back.
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seriously suggest you look at the Dia Beta - this is where the Browser company are going next.
run the beta side-by-side until you’re ready
The thing is, that is not the evolution of Arc - it is a completely new product with a completely new paradigm.
If somebody likes Arc because of the future set, Dia doesn’t seem like it is going to be a viable alternative right now. They don’t even have side tabs or spaces.
The thing is, I do not see the rush to switch browsers right now. They have announced that they are going to do security updates for Arc for some period of time in the future. So basically they consider it to be a feature–complete browser. If it were my preferred browser, I would keep using it until they stopped bug/security fixes.
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I’ve read a lot about Chrome and Edge being horrible from a privacy perspective. When I was having issues with Safari a while back (certain sites were slow to load, wouldn’t load) I went looking for a browser that would be more compatible with more things. A bit of research told me a Chromium browser would fit the bill, but I’m not a Chrome or Edge guy. This led me to Brave.
I have it installed on my Mac and iPhone, and it’s pretty awesome. It’s fast, it stays out of the way, and combined with NextDNS, I feel snug and safe.
It does take a few minutes to set up, and you need to turn off a few annoying buttons/features, but it’s quick.
A browser that I installed as a “just in case it doesn’t work in Safari” tool; well, I find myself opening Brave a lot, though more so on Mac as I don’t like third party browsers that are hobbled by Apple on iPhone.
But yea, Brave keeps me coming back for speed and fewer compatibility issues and lock-ups.
I tried Arc but I didn’t like that I needed an account, didn’t like the sidebar, didn’t trust their security/tracking, and have no use for their sessions or tab methodology. I rarely go above 1-2 tabs. You people with the 12 tabs and 3 sessions open – you’re all sick LOL.
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If you are concerned about the trust you put in your browser, Brave didn’t win mine. Granted, it was a long time ago, but for me it’s a no-go.
What are you currently using? I’d actually love to run a vanilla Chromium, but it seems like that’s something that’s not easy to do unless you’re willing to install stuff from potentially-dodgy Git repos.
I’m hoping this eventually happens in a good way. From their latest blog post:
Concepts like sidebar tabs, tab management and incoming link routing for profiles are high on our priority list. We don’t want to rush or copy and paste these features from Arc because we believe in approaching these problems through the principles of Dia and the new mechanics the technology enables.
I figure I have 1-2 years of good times left on Arc. By that time, either Dia or an alternative will be in good shape.
It can be so cozy, though! This is my sidebar view most of the workweek. Cmd+number for the top bento box shortcuts, cmd+t type for bookmarks in those folders. Pull Requests is a live folder that shows links when my attention is needed.
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I’ve got Zen looking and functioning almost exactly like Arc, including spaces, vertical and pinned tabs, and split view with no extensions other than 1Password and uBlock Origin. Still using Arc as my main browser, but planning to switch to Zen if Arc stops working or Zen surpasses it in some other way.
This is my attitude exactly. Arc is my primary browser on my secondary computer (my server where I don’t do much web browsing), and it works. It’s fine. It’ll get pushes as Chromium updates, just no new features. And by then the other browser people will have had a year or two to come up with The Next Big Thing. 
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All of them 
Joking aside, I use Safari as my main daily browser for personal and work stuff, but as work has many projects going around --basically writing a couple of slides in a given deck-- I like to try new browsers with some smaller projects and see if I find a better option, with Arc being my second preferred browser although I truly dislike not having good old fashioned bookmarks.
I’ve shifted my bookmarks (as such) into my launcher app—Alfred in my case—which makes it easy to open them into whatever browser I might be trying out at a given time.
I do think that Arc got the right mix of pins/saved tabs/ephemeral tabs right in a way that no other browser quite matches (yet).
And FWIW, Arc isn’t breaking any time soon. I’m not sure I’d really want any more features in it than it currently has—so long as they keep updating the engine and compatibility with upcoming system updates.
I like SigmaOS (it’s very similar, they copied a lot from Arc) but my impression is that it is no longer properly maintained - lots of things, especially the extensions - no longer work) and the company behind it seems to be hiding from the public. Not sure what’s going on but at thos point I wouldn’t bet on them long-term.
So my two cents:
When I got the email, I thought I’d shift back across to Safari and this lasted a couple of days only. After spending so long in Chromium style browsers, I feel a little institutionalised and i really struggle with Safari. I DID find it slower than alternatives out there and things like 1Password integration seem so much slicker in Arc.
So then I thought I’d give Dia a try - and I get what it’s trying to be, but it’s not trying to be what I want my browser to be. They have some of the Arc functionality on the roadmap for the future so I’m sticking with Arc right now because it’s as full-featured as I want and I’m happy with frequent security patches.
May give Zen a little look-see as hearing lots of good things.
I wonder what really made The Browser Company drop Arc? They seemed committed.
It’s probably all down to investment and the race to the bottom of the AI pit. Dia looks very average, just another browser. Imagine selling your soul for THAT?
I thought their initial plan was to make multiple browsers - I just thought that they’d be doing multiple browsers at the same time.
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I’m on the Beta for Dia, the new “Arc” in a sense, from The Browser Company. It operates like a traditional Chrome browser but AI features built in. It’s already helped me find hotels in Brooklyn for my son’s wedding and is helping to plan my vacation to Nova Scotia. It has some interesting features. I miss the side tabs of Arc…but not that much. I played with Zen as well as an Arc replacement. It was solid.
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