Innovation in Android web browsers has slowed significantly in recent years. Industry leaders Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome have focused on improving user experience, increasing speed and diversifying other related offerings. However, the true essence of these browsers has not changed much, if at all. So when apps like the Arc Search browser come along and offer a new approach, there’s reason to be excited.

The new browser, developed by New York-based The Browser Company, first landed on Apple platforms in 2022, followed by a Windows version in April 2024. This month, the early access version for Android has finally made its debut. But is it good? Is the Arc Search browser the Google Chrome challenger we’ve been waiting for? Can it unseat Mozilla Firefox as the workhorse of web browsing? Find my thoughts below.

Arc Search is nominally a web browser, but after using it for a weekend, I think that’s a bad way to describe the app. It uses the basics of Google Chrome, but its execution and presentation are radically different.

While you’ll find the usual web browser trappings, such as tab management, a search bar, and content blocking features, the Arc Search browser is much more reminiscent of AI-based response engines like Perplexity. Arc supports web addresses, but they are not as important as search queries. This is made even more obvious by the browser’s best feature: Browse For Me, a surprisingly useful AI synthesis tool.

After issuing a query, Arc Search collects and aggregates relevant information from multiple sites. It then presents it in an instant report with key points, useful details with sections and sources used. While querying Google Search provides potential routes to an answer, Browse For Me provides an actual answer.

I was impressed with how he summarized a wide range of topics, including “What is kid summer?” », “What is the next F1 race? » and the rather vague question of “Manchester United”. Researching the latter during the team’s recent match against Aston Villa, Browse For Me provided surprisingly up-to-date details, from half-time injuries and substitutions to top performers just minutes after the half-time whistle -course.

Searching for “Aston Villa” in the same tab a few minutes later returned relatively generic information about the team at the top of the page, including the club’s history and recent victory over Bayern, instead of the specifics of the current match as presented in Manchester United’s previous request. . The functionality would be better if it recognized context when processing search terms.

I also find that Browse For Me’s summaries are often much less focused and nuanced than those of Perplexity, ChatGPT and Gemini. The results for “Best Ways to Drink Coffee” expanded on coffee label and health benefits and only covered brewing methods – arguably the topic more closely related to the query than others – at the bottom of the page. The feature seems to have difficulty prioritizing information.

Despite these flaws, Browse For Me is really useful. The browser also does a pretty good job of making this feature visible and attractive. Even if Google or another provider is set as the default, each query in the search bar will be presented with a Browse for me shortcut button next to it.

After playing with this part of Arc Search, I realized how different it is from traditional browsers. It outperforms Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox for instant data discovery. As Browse For Me is an Arc exclusive, the new browser is a much better snapshot search tool than its more established competitors.

Another divergent design feature is how Arc Search manages your browsing session, particularly your open tabs. It takes cues from Android’s UI, presenting tabs as if they were apps open in a task switcher. Tap the tab button in the bottom left corner of the app and each minimized tab window will be presented one by one. You can also scroll horizontally to highlight them.

This arrangement may seem novel, but it is far from practical. This certainly makes Arc Search feel like an operating system within an operating system, but it hampers the ability to quickly switch between tabs, especially if you have more than 10 tabs of depth during a long navigation session. Compare Arc’s tab switcher to Chrome (center) and Firefox (right) in the image below, and you’ll understand my frustration.

Arc also makes it difficult to create new tabs from current tabs. The app currently doesn’t have a long-press context menu – a browser feature I can’t live without on desktop, let alone mobile – for opening hyperlinks in new tabs and copying links. Much like middle-click browsing, this makes Arc Search an absolute chore for search-intensive browsing sessions that require multiple subtabs. This is surely not a deliberate design decision but an early access failure. I hope this will be fixed in the next version.

However, Arc Search offers a very useful auto-archiving feature if you are finicky with your open tabs. It’s a bit like browsing a history list, but these archived tabs open seemingly instantly. The delay before archiving tabs can also be adjusted according to your needs.

Arc Search is in its early access phase. I can’t be too hard on it for that reason. The Android version of the app is not even openly announced on the official Arc website. However, since it is publicly available, it is important to mention the features it currently lacks.

• There’s no syncing feature like on other versions of the operating system, but that also means you don’t need to create an Arc Search account to use it like on Windows.
• The browser does not support landscape. This is especially annoying when browsing on a foldable phone or tablet.
• The onboarding process fails to detail the browser’s full list of features, specifically highlighting how to enable incognito mode, how pinned web pages work, and how the archiving feature can best be used.
• It currently lacks a Browse For Me widget, which would instantly increase its usefulness on my device.
• Arc and Bitwarden don’t play well. I had trouble getting the password manager screen to appear, which made logging into sites a complete chore.
• Arc Search can only be installed on devices running Android 13 or newer. I’ve seen several users online trying to install the browser on their Android 12 phones to no avail.
• It’s currently missing several iOS features, including a reader mode, a real-time article summary feature, voice search, and the Original Conversations feature that lets you query Arc as if you were on a phone call.
• Unlike Firefox, Arc Search does not support extensions. Although mobile Chrome does not support them either, it is worth remembering that some Chromium-based browsers, like Kiwi and Yandex, work with Chrome extensions.

In a word, yes. Arc Search is worth downloading and installing, even in its current state. It’s a surprisingly solid app. However, don’t expect it to replace Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as your primary web channel. As I mentioned, it’s great for instant topic searches, but it’s still not a complete package.

It’s missing features we take for granted in mature web browsers, from support for extensions and context menus to reliable password manager support. These features are imperative to getting things done online.

There are, however, clear and exciting visions of its future. The Arc Search browser offers an excellent auto-archiving system, a useful pinned sites bar, content blocking by default, and its excellent Browse For Me feature. There’s also the promise of iOS features potentially coming to Android, which would truly make it one of the most interesting browsers on the market.

That said, I don’t know if surfing the web needs to be made exciting. There’s a reason why the essence of the web browser hasn’t changed much in recent years. Familiarity is essential for daily workflow, and Arc feels foreign.

Therefore, Arc Search won’t remain the default browser on my Android phone, but it will definitely have a place in my list of pinned apps. I can’t wait to see where the app goes; he has a lot of potential. But I’m sticking to Firefox and Chrome for my daily browsing needs, at least for now.