Arc

The Browser Company released their first take on Arc for iPhone this week and to say it is, well, opinionated would be an understatement.

For starters, the app isn’t considered a full-blown browser but rather a “companion” utility to the Mac app, and it’s iPhone-only at the moment. Once you’re logged in with your account, the app will sync your spaces and display opens tabs from them (but not pinned tabs for each space), and it’ll let you tap on them to open them with a custom web view. Here’s the weird part: you can’t create new tabs like in, say, Safari or Chrome, but there is a search bar to navigate to websites or perform Google searches.

I’m not sold on this idea of using Arc as a “companion” browser: to me, it just feels like a clever way to market an app that shipped incomplete while also finding a way to make a big splash about it. Which is a fine media strategy, but let’s be honest: no one wants a “companion” browser these days. It’s like arguing that an undercooked pizza is a novel, fancy way to eat pizza; no – it’s just undercooked.

I think Arc for iPhone obviously needs more work, so you can use it as a companion utility right now, but the app can (and should) be much more. That said, as someone who thinks The Browser Company is doing a lot of interesting things, I am excited to see how Arc for iPhone grows in the future.

If you want to try Arc, here’s my invite link you can use.