Arc browser — first impressions after a month of daily use

Arc is the only browser I have switched to from Chrome and not switched away within a week. After a month of daily use, here is what stuck and what did not.

Spaces and Profiles

The single biggest change is using Spaces instead of windows. Each Space has its own pinned tabs and profile. I have one for Work, one for Personal and one for client projects. Switching is a single shortcut and the browser visually shifts to make it obvious where you are. This alone makes me less likely to lose context.

Tabs that disappear

Unpinned tabs auto-close after a configurable timeout. At first this felt aggressive; after two weeks it felt right. Tabs are not a TODO list. If something matters, pin it.

Little Arc and Air Traffic Control

• Little Arc is a small popup window for a single link from outside the browser. Closes itself when you are done. Saves a real tab from being created.
• Air Traffic Control opens links in the right Space based on rules. Surprisingly useful for separating work and personal Google accounts.

Where it disappoints

• Memory. Arc is a Chromium browser with extra UI; expect the same RAM appetite as Chrome plus a bit more.
• Mobile parity. The mobile companion app does not match the desktop experience.
• Stability. A handful of small crashes per month, fixed quickly but still present.

Verdict

Worth a serious trial if your browser is your IDE for daily life. Less compelling if you mostly live in two pinned tabs and a YouTube window.