Windows Arc Browser

[Supt]

Arc Browser Launched For Windows
A very hyped browser that was previously only available only on macOS is not available for windows.

Personally, I've tried it for a little bit it's very smooth (chromium), and the UI and animations are awesome, but I can't wrap my head around the "Pin tab" "archive tab" "favorite" feature. Maybe I'll need to use it for a little bit more to fully understand it.
But the "workspace" is a very nice addition, it helps to keep your work and your entertainment separate and organized.

There is a split view in the browser, you can have 4 split panel at one time. It is a pretty nice way to multitask without using the windows window snapping feature. And this browser is kinda keybind centric, so if you love not having to lift your hand off of your keyboard, you'll love this browser.

Since this is a Beta version, there are some bugs. I have encountered not being able to pre some buttons.
I'm just too used to Chrome, I just can't ditch it, but I'll try to give it a try from time to time.

Let me know what you think.

 

[calvin1719]

Pinned tabs and workspaces - is that new to Arc? Vivaldi has had these for a very long time now. Why is it hyped btw, does it have any features other chromium browsers don't? I've never heard of it before.

Anyway, unless it has something really special I don't think I'll be switching away from Vivaldi as main and FF/Chrome as backup. Too bothersome to switch everything if there's no overwhelming benefit.

 

[PixelDew]

I tried arc for a few days and couldn't even make it a week before swapping back. The UI while nice just doesn't fit my style and the speed improvement was barely noticable compared to stock chrome. I guess it's features just don't benefit me.

I currently use Firefox w/betterfox and honestly even though chromium is slightly faster (most noticable in YouTube), I just can't get used to the UI. Firefox looks so much sleeker, I absolutely love the dynamic theme and wish chrome added them (I use this one which looks so good - Dark space theme). I also love how much I can customise the top bar and hide things I don't use which just take up room for extensions/settings that I do use. Finally, the fact that soon extensions like adblocks won't work as well on chromium browsers is also a concern, so even more reason to avoid chromium-based browsers!

 

[Supt]

Pinned tabs and workspaces - is that new to Arc? Vivaldi has had these for a very long time now. Why is it hyped btw, does it have any features other chromium browsers don't? I've never heard of it before.

Anyway, unless it has something really special I don't think I'll be switching away from Vivaldi as main and FF/Chrome as backup. Too bothersome to switch everything if there's no overwhelming benefit.

I have to clue why it's hyped. But I have seen a lot of YouTubers making videos about how they are switching to Arc, and it changed their workflow and made them more productive blah blah blah.
It's mostly the people that use macs and Notion. Even though I have nothing against Notion I love it and use it every day for taking notes.

The UI while nice just doesn't fit my style and the speed improvement was barely noticable compared to stock chrome.

It isn't faster per se, but it feels faster, probably because of the smooth animations.

I absolutely love the dynamic theme and wish chrome added them (I use this one which looks so good - Dark space theme).

Yea, I love the dynamic theme as well, it fit so well with YouTube's ambient mode. But one thing I found you can change the color to be black or close to black my current chrome theme is called "All Black - Full Dark Theme/Black Theme" literally the most black theme I could find XD.

Pinned tabs and workspaces - is that new to Arc? Vivaldi has had these for a very long time now.

Arc Pinned Tabs
Pinned tab is indeed a bit different. Yes you are still pinning a tab, so you can use it later, but Arc doesn't have bookmarks, it uses the pin feature.
And if you click on a different link from a pinned, that will open a sub-window.
Give it a shot, maybe you'll like it.

 

[ibose]

Arc Browser is now available for Windows 11 - gHacks Tech News

Arc Browser, a Chromium-based browser, is now available without restrictions for the Windows operating system.

www.ghacks.net

It is a hyped data collector is what it is, not to mention the closed source...
Ungoogled Chromium or Cromite over this crap, no offence to OP.

 

[Supt]

Arc Browser is now available for Windows 11 - gHacks Tech News

Arc Browser, a Chromium-based browser, is now available without restrictions for the Windows operating system.

www.ghacks.net

It is a hyped data collector is what it is ..
Ungoogled Chromium or Chromite over this crap, no offence to OP.

No offense taken, I too hate the fact that you need to create an account to use a browser, but we live in a time where every service requires an account and collects your data.
But what's the point of using a hardened browser when your literal Operating System is collecting your data? That's like having an insane vault but giving the spare key to a random person.
Most of us have already sold our souls to Google/Amazon already, I don't mind giving them my email and having them send me a few mails every month.

 

[ibose]

when your literal Operating System is collecting your data?

Off topic but that happens when you use it as-is out of the box. There are ways to avoid it discussed elsewhere on this forum.

 

[rootyme]

you need to create an account to use a browser

This is so funny when you compare this requirement with what they write in their privacy policy page.

We don't know which websites you visit. We don't see what you type into the browser. We don't sell your data to third parties.

What's the point of forcing users to create accounts then?

But what's the point of using a hardened browser when your literal Operating System is collecting your data? That's like having an insane vault but giving the spare key to a random person.

The goal is minimisation of this collection. If one entity forces it upon you, it doesn't mean you give it away to another. And there are many Operating Systems that don't collect any of your data at all.

 

[variablevector]

Just from taking a look at the screenshots on their website, it looks like a browser for people who primarily use Pinterest/Tumblr/etc. That design language doesn't appeal to me at all. Can't try it yet cause I'm on Windows 10.

 

[Supt]

This is so funny when you compare this requirement with what they write in their privacy policy page.



What's the point of forcing users to create accounts then?


The goal is minimisation of this collection. If one entity forces it upon you, it doesn't mean you give it away to another. And there are many Operating Systems that don't collect any of your data at all.

Look I'm not trying to defend Arc requiring an account just to use the browser.
The first thing that came to my mind after opening it was "why the **** do I need an account just to use the browser". But to answer your question it's probably cause of the sync feature they have (which they could have made optional) Chrome has a similar feature but isn't mandatory.

As for os I use Linux everyday on my laptop and I ****ing love it but I will never install it bare metal on my desktop cause i like to have a normal life and play games with my friends.

Also how do you know your distro doesn't collect your data? Have you read the source code line by line?

Also an email isn't going to give them access to your data. Your e-mail is probably already leaked and is in a list unless you use a new email for every service.

I just feel like you're blowing this out of proportion, how do you know your ISP isn't spying on you? If you're using a vpn how do you know our vpn provider isn't selling your data? How do you know the very forum isn't selling your data? You'll live you whole life in paranoia if you are this paranoid about using your email.
Btw 10minmail exists.

 

[entropy]

To each their own. Arc seems cool. But as others have pointed out already, it doesn't seem to offer any ground breaking features which other browsers already don't (even if they didn't, there are extensions). Maybe I'll test it out inside a VM just for the sake of it. I personally try and limit the amount of data that is being collected wherever possible. So, I stick with LibreWolf and Brave running on Debian. Funny thing is, this thread, which was supposed to irk my curiosity about Arc browser has somehow managed to make me curious about cromite. I'll be totally checking that one out!