App Store Pearls: Arc is the browser that Google Chrome fears

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 makes Google Chrome tremble.

Nowadays there are quite a few browsers available with which we surf the internet every day. Most browsers therefore work in a similar way in principle and functionally. Arc, on the other hand, does it completely differently.

Arc is a browser on your iPhone, although it sometimes doesn’t seem like it

This App Store Pearl is a major change in the way you browse the web when compared to Google Chrome. What you probably immediately notice is the taskbar, which normally sits at the top of the screen, is now on the right side of the screen. It contains all your tabs and bookmarks, although Arc on iPhone no longer makes any distinction. Everything you add here actually functions as an app of its own, which opens when you tap it.

For anyone who loves to organize, 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 is useful for navigation, since the App Store Pearl does not have a ‘permanent’ search bar. You have to call this up to navigate through the app.

Arc is therefore not only available in the App Store of your iPhone, the Google Chrome competitor can also be installed on your Mac. The two apps synchronize with each other so that you have the necessary tabs ready everywhere. You can also save links from other apps to the App Store Pearl, so that you can read them later.

This App Store Pearl is close behind Google Chrome

Ironically, Arc runs on Chromium, the same system that’s under the hood of Chrome. On the other hand, Arc works so differently that you would hardly draw the comparison. The App Store Pearl feels completely unique, and could well influence the future of browsers.

Arc can be downloaded on your iPhone via the App Store, but must be installed on a Mac via a browser (it will probably work nicely on the new MacBook). You also have to sit in a queue to gain access to the browser.