Arc Browser: Initial testing on Windows

It all begun with me seeing looking for the best web browser and going through a couple of videos on Youtube, I stumbled upon a new name in the scene called Arc browser. It looked quite clean and modifiable so I wanted to test it out. Unfortunately it wasn't available on Windows yet so they offered a waitlist, with nothing to lose I signed up and the wait begun.

What feels like ages of waiting since I signed up for the beta testing of Arc on Windows has now resulted in an installation of an early beta version of the Arc browser. First thing I did was to open process explorer and check how much resources it consumes. 

This is a sample of having one Youtube video running in the Arc browser. Not too bad, compared with an even more resource consuming Microsoft Edge.

What the Arc browser intends to do uniquely

Their idea is to combine browser, search engine and webpages. You type your question, it goes out and gets the information for you and builds your own page. "A browser that browses for you" is the way that The Browser Company explains it in a video, and they also want it to anticipate your needs as well.

It is available on Mac and iOS and this is their website: Arc from The Browser Company

How to join the waitlist

Joining the wait list was simple, I signed up on this link and then I waited. Today the download link and some basic instructions arrived in the email. Nothing too complicated really.

The instructions tell you to create and use a login for the browser, much like Mozilla Firefox, this account helps you sync your data. You are also asked not to share the download link or your login. 

Installation was simple, a regular app installer was downloaded which you then could execute.

Initial experience of Arc browser on Windows 11

Keep in mind that it is an early beta version so there are functionalities missing and not entirely chiseled out. On the side you have your tabs, folders/groups of pages, and access to your Gmail and Google Calendar.

The tab system on the left seems really clean at the beginning, I am curious to see how it will work when the amount of pages ramps up however.

Entering text into the search bar will Google it for you like usual, I wasn't able to intuitively get it to perform the Arc magic, the search bar was also a bit smaller than the Edge search bar I am used to so it was less easy to click.

So the first impressions is that it looks modern, feels clean but I am lacking a bit of the intuitive aspect and functionality.

Let's keep our eyes on the browser for what more is to come in the future.