The Arc browser just launched and yes, it really is that good
The Arc Browser, a web browser originally designed for macOS and iOS, has finally made its way to Windows 11 after leaving closed beta testing. After trying it out, I find that I enjoy it much more than Google Chrome and especially Microsoft Edge, despite both being Chromium-based. In fact, in due time it could easily become one of the best browsers all around.
I found it to be incredibly fast and responsive while using much less memory than Chrome, all while both browsers have the same number of tabs open. As most Chrome users know, memory loss is one of Chrome’s biggest drawbacks, so a Chromium browser that uses much less of it and still runs efficiently is a big deal.
Meanwhile, the obvious positive about Edge is the lack of ads and other massive clutter that plagues it, making it obnoxious at best and almost unusable at worst. This includes a current bug from the most recent update that makes Edge almost completely unusableat least until the next update that fixes the problem.
Because it was originally created for macOS, Arc uses Swift instead of C++, the latter of which is used in both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. While both are excellent programming languages, Swift’s advantage is that it offers automatic memory management, which pairs well with increasingly faster processors. Automatic memory management means developers don’t have to write code to perform memory management tasks for managed applications.
Arc also uses native Windows frameworks, making it an incredibly fast and smooth experience. This also means there’s plenty of Windows 11-like UI baked in, like menu design, switches, Mica materials, and acrylic support for a more transparent UI.
One of my favorite features is Split View, which lets you instantly split tabs two, three, and four ways. You can also choose the size of the tab split. It’s an especially useful feature for those with large monitors, as you can take advantage of it for multitasking without having to toggle through the settings.
And no matter how many tabs I opened, I noticed virtually no lag. Additionally, the tab management system on the left side of the browser was easy to understand and kept all my tabs perfectly organized, with split tabs and regular tabs separated for easy tracking.
Of course, things aren’t all sunshine and rainbows. Since this is still a Chromium browser, the looming threat to privacy of Manifest V3 is very real as it could remove all ad blocking once it replaces Manifest V2. Then there’s the fact that the browser still tracks users with the ad unit installed. So as always, download and use Arc with that in mind.
The Arc team, also known as The Browser Company, has promised even more updates to the web browser to eventually bring it up to par with the macOS version, as well as support for Windows 10. It looks like Arc has a truly unbeatable browser is becoming, and could possibly even beat the competition from browsers like Google. Mozilla Firefox if it can address these privacy issues.
If you want to try Arc for yourself, you can download it for free here.