Sidebar Sync for Arc Members 17+

Before I say anything else, I love Arc. The whole UI, the concept of having different spaces for different purposes, the customization, hotkeys, everything. For desktop, 10/10. For iPhone 8/10 and I think it will be 10/10 really soon with two small fixes.

First, and this should be an easy one. Why can’t you set it as the default browser in the settings for iPhone? I can do it for Chrome, Firefox, etc. But go into the settings and it’s nowhere to be found. Idk if this is restriction from Apple or something inherit in the system but it needs to change ASAP if you want to increase usage. My default onClick still opens in Safari and that isn’t great.

Second is a little harder, the transition between tabs. On desktop you have the luxury of room for menus and sidebars, but on mobile it’s tricky. As a user it feels clunky when I need to switch tabs that I have to pin something, close it, open a new one and then go back to the tab, finish what I’m doing and remove the pin. I don’t have a great solution, but in it’s current form it feels like double the effort it should. I’m confident it’ll get there because you’ve nailed the UI on everything else. It’s a tough problem, I get it.

All in all, still recommend completely. I’m sold. Poke me when one of those features is changed and I’ll change it to a 5. Keep up the great work folks!

So first things to point out: this isn’t meant to be a full replacement for a browser, thus why they put the word “companion” into the app title. As a companion, it works enough. From anywhere with a share menu, you can add links to your Arc spaces, those show up on your Mac, and you of course can see and access your spaces within the app as well. One strange omission is the ability to see your favorites. You can only see pinned tabs. This where it comes from 5-star to 4-star. There is also web functionality built into this app, but it’s just the basics for quick peeks into your open tabs in arc. This is also where this app becomes a 3-star instead of a 4-star. Given this is a companion app, I would’ve been fine with the basics only, but you can’t change the search engine, and the default is Google. Given the otherwise great Privacy Policy from Arc, not being able to switch from Google is disappointing. You can still type direct urls in the search bar though, so I can use an alternative with an extra step each search. I’d really like to see the ability to switch search engines though. As expected from the Arc team, the UI is wonderful and built like it was meant for a smartphone. It’s fast and easy to get around. Overall, I like the app, and can’t wait to see a full Arc browser on mobile down the road.

I’ve had a delightful experience using Arc Browser on macOS. Its design is truly exquisite, and I personally prefer it to Chrome. However, I’ve noticed that the iOS version lacks the ability to install extensions and doesn’t seem to offer the full range of features available on the desktop version. There appears to be significant room for improvement in the mobile experience.
Additionally, I have a query regarding the browser’s search functionality. The inability to change the default search engine is quite limiting, especially for Chinese users like myself who cannot access Google without special networking conditions. I believe it would be greatly beneficial to implement a simple settings interface that allows users to select their preferred search engine. This would enhance the browser’s appeal and usability for a broader audience.

(Translated by ChatGLM-4, an LLM trained by ZhipuAI& THUDM)