Every day we scour the Internet for you to find the best apps from the App Store for your iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. Today, OMT editor Dunke van Boekel talks about Arc, a browser on Mac and iPhone that Google Chrome is shivering about.
There are a good number of browsers available today that we use to surf the Internet on a daily basis. Consequently, most browsers work in a similar way in principle and functionally. Arc, on the other hand, does so completely differently.
Arc is a browser on your iPhone, though sometimes it doesn’t seem that way
This App Store Pearl is a drastic change in the way you browse the Internet when compared to Google Chrome. What is probably immediately noticeable is the task bar, which normally sits at the top of the screen, is now on the right side of the screen. This contains all your tabs and bookmarks, although Arc on iPhone doesn’t really distinguish between them anymore. Anything you add here actually functions as a sort of app unto itself, opening when you tap it.
For anyone who loves organization, Arc is like heaven on your iPhone. All tabs can be divided into folders, you can add eight tabs to your favorites and even give each tab its own name. This, in turn, is useful for navigation, since App Store Pearl does not have a “permanent” search bar. You have to call this up briefly to navigate through the app.
So not only is Arc available in your iPhone’s App Store, the Google Chrome competitor can also be installed on your Mac. The two apps sync with each other so you can have the necessary tabs ready wherever you are. Also, you can already save links from other apps to the App Store Pearl so you can enjoy reading them later.
This App Store Pearl is hot on Google Chrome’s heels
Ironically, Arc runs on Chromium, the same system that lies under the hood of Chrome. In contrast, then, Arc works so differently that you almost wouldn’t draw the comparison. The App Store Pearl feels entirely unique, and may yet influence the future of browsers.
Arc is just downloadable on your iPhone via the App Store, but must be installed via a browser on Mac (will probably work nicely on the new MacBook). Also, you must first sit through a queue to access the browser.
