Arc vs Chrome in 2024: Why I’m Switching Back After 6 Months
Summary
Hey folks, today we're diving into a fascinating review by Luren Wire on the Arc browser—a topic hot on our radar especially if you're all about efficient software for marketing. This browser sounds like it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster for Luren. After about six months of use, he shares his hands-on experience, both good and bad. The review doesn't just sing praises; it also points out some significant drawbacks, especially when considering a switch from Chrome or trying out a new browser for your daily work in 2024.
At its best, Arc boasts a flexible and highly customizable interface—think changing colors to match themes and having quick access to your 12 most-used sites like Social Blade, AppSumo, or even your email and design tools like Canva. It’s suitable for those of us stuck with a single screen setup because the tab-switching feature is super smooth, letting you bounce between tasks almost effortlessly. If you appreciate efficiency, those quick-access buttons could help streamline your navigation.
However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Luren highlights some significant issues, including unreliable website compatibility—Arc reportedly struggles with certain sites like Pinterest or even YouTube sometimes, which can disrupt your workflow. This inconsistency means he often switches back to Chrome, adding unwanted complexity to his day. Moreover, frequent updates and potential security concerns cast doubt on its long-term viability for business use.
Overall, you might find Arc's unique features worth a look, especially if your workflow thrives on customization. But remember to weigh these benefits against its compatibility issues and learning curve. For my software-savvy friends interested in browsing tech, this tale of two browsers could guide your approach to testing out new tools. And don't forget, for an in-depth look into how Arc really performs, head over to Luren Wire's channel and watch the full review.
Key Takeaways:
- Arc Browser's Quick Access: Allows for up to 12 favorite sites with buttons for easy access.
- Customizable Interface: Options to change colors, themes, and layout for a personalized experience.
- Efficient Tab Management: Smooth toggling between tabs enhances single-screen workflow efficiency.
- Compatibility Issues: Not all websites function well, specifically highlighting troubles with Pinterest and YouTube.
- Frequent Updates: Arc requires multiple updates weekly which can be disruptive.
- Security Concerns: Questions remain about its security compared to established browsers like Chrome.
- Chrome Dependence: Due to Arc's shortcomings, there's been a frequent need to revert to Chrome.
- Transition Challenges: Adjusting from Chrome to Arc involves a learning curve despite its appealing interface.
- User Feedback Invited: Luren asks viewers to suggest better browsers or share experiences in the comments.
Video
How To Take Action
I would suggest implementing the Arc browser's customizable features to improve your daily efficiency. Start by setting up quick access buttons for your top 12 used sites. This will save you time bouncing back and forth between platforms. For entrepreneurs, consider bookmarking business tools like Canva or email to streamline your workflow.
A good way of using Arc is to play with the interface customization. Change themes and colors to create a workspace that feels personal and enjoyable. This not only boosts productivity but also makes long hours in front of the screen more pleasant.
However, keep in mind the potential drawbacks. Pay attention to website compatibility. If a critical site isn't working right on Arc, you might need to switch to Chrome for that task. This could prevent disruptions in your daily routine.
You might want to monitor Arc's updates. Frequent updates can interrupt your workflow, so plan to update during non-peak hours. Consider reviewing update notes beforehand to foresee any changes that might affect the tools you rely on.
Lastly, as you explore Arc, focus on mastering the tab-switching feature. Practice tab management shortcuts to maximize your screen's real estate, especially if you work from a single screen. This small change can notably impact how smoothly you can multitask throughout the day. Over time, these strategies can elevate your productivity without major costs, aligning perfectly with efficient business practices.
Quotes by Learnwire
"I've definitely given this a multimon use as my, you know, 95% of the time using the arc browser"
– Learnwire
"I love that I can get to my emails within just a click of a button"
– Learnwire
"Sometimes they don't load and I'm going to go over some of the negative so stick with me"
– Learnwire
"Another things is that like for example I'd be using Pinterest and wanting to check Pinterest stats"
– Learnwire
"Unfortunately there's just too many websites that don't function properly in the arc browser"
– Learnwire
Full Transcript
hey guys after using Arc browser for the past six months I need to be real with you while I like so many things about it some recent issues are making me question if I should keep using it as my main browser today I'm sharing my complete hands-on experience the awesome features I Ed daily and the problems nobody's talking about so stick around to see if Arc browser is actually worth switching to in 2024 2025 and what's making me consider a big change in my workflow let's Dive In all right guys this is going to be a very informal video but I just wanted to do like a review on the arc browser I know that so I've been using it for six months and I just want to give you guys like feedback uh on my the positive uh use of it what I like about it what I dislike and if I'm going to continue using it but I've given this a real go you can see in my videos I think I've been using this for at least five or six months now I have to go I'd have to go back and actually look but it feels like it's been about five or six months maybe four five six months but I've definitely given this a multimon use as my you know 95% of the time using the arc browser and I just want to kind of go over just the thoughts of using it after this time because I know that you guys had had asked this question like hey do an update on the arc browser Arc versus Chrome stuff like this isn't going to necessarily be an arc versus Chrome browser comparison and some other some of you have told me that there's even better um browsers than Arc so if you have your favorite browser and I'm just kind of sitting here in Quad you can see I use quad if you're interested in how I use quad on a daily basis to help me run my business actually there will be a link below to the AI Alchemist and let me pull that up for you guys real quick so if you want to learn how I'm using Claud it's a full-blown course there'll be a link below go check this out if you want to help support luren wire YouTube channel and then also learn a lot about how to use AI for real world reasons to use this not just like a you know list of 2,000 prompts that you'll never use this is actually the way that I really use this then you can go and check this out how I use it okay but back to I just kind of wanted to change the screen as well so back to the arc browser and this is just going to be kind of me talking a lot um about how I've used it okay so I'm going to get into this so what I like about it and I've been like I said keep in mind I've been using this for months and I was a full-blown Chrome user and then I went over here and just started using this and initially it was kind of tough to kind of get used to it and you can see right over here look so I I change the color green it kind of matches my learn wire theme over here those are things that I really like about it you can go over here and I'm just going to start off so you can do a plus and you can say new space right here and you could say you know new space if you have a new business or if you're doing this by a YouTube channel or whatever you want to do and you can actually bring in your different profiles right here typically I just use the same profile and then you can change the theme you can change the color you can change make it look like paper and you can change the just just the way that it looks there's all kinds of different things you can do with this browser right and then you can say create space right so then now this space is now being created for us and it will bring over those uh buttons over here and if I wanted to get rid of one I can just remove this as a favorite we can also move this um dashboard in I mean sorry the sidebar and you can just have the two right there so it's going to show a little bit more of the screen but I like having more ability to have more windows open because I tend to have a lot of links open you can also go like this as well and just you know really there's a lot of flexibility with the UI and the layout of what you want to use it for okay now if I just go to a site let's just say I pull up a site that I use right here's social blade and when I make this a favorite I can just drag and drop it over here as a favorite and so then now if I want to go over here's app Sumo and I want to go back over to social blade if I want to go over and check go into notion I can click notion and it's going to load that for me as well okay so it only allows you to have 12 12 of these buttons but you got to think about it this the 12 websites that you use to run your business and that you visit the most of the time that's what's going to go up there right as you can see I've got Claude I've got Chad gbt I've got my link where I have all my affiliate links over here this is switchy this is where I manage all my affiliate links and any links that I put in my descriptions so I can track and then I have two email accounts over here I've got canva you know where I do my thumbnails right over here and I'm just really showing you the inside I've got my school Community is right over here that I go into school real quick and then go back to absum right so you can kind of go and get to where you need to go very quickly and I like that right and you can just go and say new tab and just open up new tabs so we're going to open up Bing right now and then another thing that I really like is that anytime we want to open up a new tab you can do a control T and then this pops up right over here so a control T opens up and we can go into I'm trying to open up some different things which just stick with the theme of different search engines right and so let's say you're doing research over here and then you want to go back over to your the Bing tab over here all you have to do and I've already elected this in Chrome so this is where Arc definitely saves with efficiency all I have to do is just do a on my Mac it's a command Tab and but I have switched the so I really think it's a control tab on a Windows but it's a command tab on Mac I've adjusted my key my my keys a little bit on the Mac to make it more like Windows because that's what I was used to but all I have to do is just push that button it's just a really quick tap and it always goes back to the one that you were at before so if I'm at appsumo if I click the command tab on my Mac right it's going to be different for you uh depending on your machine but on me on my setup it's a command tab now if I do a command tab right here it's going to take me back to the Yahoo because that's the last one I was at right so it's going to take me back there so now if I'm on app Sumo and I want to get to Bing I would need need to go and go over to Bing and then I could click it and go back over and so I found this very useful for when I am say uh uploading a course to thrive cart right and I need to go and maybe I have an outline so I'm running off of an outline and then I have you know Thrive cart open and I want I'm going back and forth I can really go move back and forth sorry if that bothers you guys but just showing you how fast it is and I've looked guys and it's actually really not as easy on Chrome so this is where definitely the arc browser like you have to do three buttons I believe in order to go back to your U last one last window that you were on and it so it takes three keys it's just not that efficient it's not that what would you say just it's not that efficient if that makes sense if any of you guys want to pick up any of the Black Friday deals and you're seeing this video you might want to go pick these up because some of these deals the price actually does go up you're still going to get discounts for for Black Friday and so forth but the prices on like neuron riter deposit photos mvo super copy all those are going to go up a little bit and we have different drops coming in throughout the week they're doing this kind of different type of style this year so you might want to go check that out but so really I like the efficiency where chome where Arc wins compared to other browsers especially Chrome is the three biggest things that I like about it okay I'm just going to say it's the buttons over here the quick buttons the 12 quick buttons that I can run my business more smoothly I love that I can get to my emails within just a click of a button this Arc browser is going to be espe for people that are on one screen I've got this like 28 in monitor or 30in monitor so I got a really big monitor but I haven't I I've been actually operating for the last year with just a single monitor yes that is funny and you guys can laugh at me for years and years I had two monitors at you know in my daily workflow and my you know when I was in the corporate business and so forth I always had two screens and then I also had two screens when I started doing YouTube full-time but something happened between the move where I in my desk is just not that big of a desk um where I just kind of got used to go using one screen again and sometimes it's annoying and I know that it two screens can in increase your efficiency your work productivity and efficiency by up to 30% if you know how to use it properly but long story short this is great for people that are on a laptop or only have one screen because of the tab feature you can just move back and forth so easily between your work and then the buttons over here to quickly get to your main places all the time sometimes they don't load and I'm going to go over some of the negative so stick with me because this isn't just a glowing review about Arc you want to stick with me because I'm going to be talking about why I'm probably going to be switching back to Chrome and it's very important so you don't want to miss if you've stuck with me this long okay so the three big three right is the buttons up here the quick access to 12 websites automatically bookmarked I love how it's you get like a button here it's kind of like your it's kind of just it's satisfying clicking on the buttons it's satisfying to be able to click on the buttons and get kind of opening up a new app if you will each time and then when you tap you know the control command T see how that see how I'm tapping between notion and appsumo I'm going like this now right and so I really love that feature the the command tab back and forth between tabs I know that I mean there's a button that you can do that on Chrome but you could even go and tap there's no direct way to go to make sure you go back and I can show you that on Chrome if I go to Pinterest and then I go into my YouTube over here let me see go back to previous tab in Chrome okay so you have to do a a tab on Windows or a command plus shift plus tab on Mac so this might be you know those windows users you might have better options in Chrome but on a Mac you have to use three buttons just to do this a command shift tab on Mac so I can do that right I can go but look how it's going back it's going all the way back to a bunch of different tabs and I don't want it to I want to be able to go back I want to be able to go back to this tab and then forward in the matter of seconds and I have not found a good way to do that in the Chrome like if I'm working on here and I want to just quickly go to any tab that I have open in Chrome and then I want to instantly push a button and go right back to the previous tab so I want to work between two tabs and go back and forth I haven't found a good way to do that and I'm sure there is hopefully there's a way you guys are much smarter than me you can figure that out but I have uh researched it and I just can't find there are short keys don't get me wrong we can open this up and you can see control command you can like there's different ways and there's different short keys but I just haven't found the ability to do this simple thing like in the cro The Arc browser where we can just go back and forth between tabs super super easy and you can control which tab right all you have to do if you're like okay now I want to go back between yah Yahoo and school all you have to do is just go like this now we get to control that so that's my second favorite feature and then the third favorite feature I believe is actually it's four favorite features the fourth is we can come here and I can like I said show you here's learn wire right then we can go in we can open up another tab here we can go over here for like more internet marketing related we have another one right over here and then we have this one over here we'll go back over here so uh you have all these different ways that you can use I feel like it's more customizable to the user and it can be more efficient than Chrome the fourth and final main thing that I like about the arc browser is that you're able to come up here and easily toggle um this sidebar away so if you're recording videos I can go like this and now have a full screen and then there's less space at the top than Chrome so if we go over to Chrome there's generally there's this big gap over here right and so I'm going to try to keep my corser and try to make a mark I'm going to use my finger actually on the screen and then we're going to go back over to the arc browser and so I can tell you right now my finger is right here where this where the csor is right here and so what this means is when we open up Chrome the let me see if I can do a control Tab and it'll open up Chrome so you can see right here right where you get way more space about another inch you get another inch of canvas layout is what I would call it there's a the canvas is much larger and taller you get to see more of my screen when presenting there's just more real estate that's the best way to describe this there's more real estate on the arc browser and that's one one of them is that they're not using this massive thing up here this massive toolbar with all your tabs and everything and you can click on here and this is where the URL is so it it's just different you get used to it after using it about a week you get used to the arc browser so this part right here I really like because then you can and then when you're done recording you can just go over here click that and then boom your like bar is open again right so it's very flexible and adjustable to the user okay so I really have enjoyed the arc browser and I'm I'm kind of sad that I think I might be moving to back to Chrome and I got to explain why but those were all the great great features okay so now let's get into some of the things that that just are not flying with me lately there are many websites that just don't load properly in the arc browser where you will literally just be uh trying to go about your day and they just uh you know the the the website is down or it goes blank and it's really not down when you go to another browser it it opens just fine but the website just does not load properly another things is that like for example I'd be using Pinterest and wanting to check Pinterest stats in the arc browser and then it wouldn't show certain images or certain pages properly but then when you would go into the Chrome browser it would work just fine right so I found that the arc browser does not work it works about 88 89% of the time so even 10% of the time that's enough to impact my business and my workflow so that's why I always have Chrome open and I always end up having to go to Chrome and I still I've kind of dealt with it over the last month it seems like it's in increased and gotten worse and I've updated the arc browser uh every time they also have updates um multiple times a week and that part's kind of annoying to roll out you know mo almost every other day they have some type of update to the arc browser that part's kind of annoying as well I wish they would just hold it once a month and do one major update kind of like Chrome does what else can I say so that is been become an increasing factor that I don't like about the arc browser YouTube has been goes down that's my number you know the number one part of my business and a lot of times I'll go back over to the YouTube tab over here and it'll just be down and then I end up having to just but recently I've just had to go into Chrome because that's obviously Google's tool so it's going to be better for using YouTube and loading YouTube and uploading videos and all that and so I found myself more and more having to go and load Chrome you and use Chrome for certain tasks and then it just ends up breaking my workflow right because then now I'm working in two browsers and I don't really like that workflow either okay so there's also security issues and I know some of you have left comments before as well about the arc browser that it's not secure it's less secure than than Chrome and probably Safari and Firefox and even Internet Explorer so it had I don't know who where did the arc browser come from so let's go and research that well we have some information about here Josh Miller and hirsh gualla it was released in April 2022 so that's another kind of risk that you're taking is that it's basically in beta and it's only been around for a couple years and so that's a little risky there it says that it's safe to use but see if we can find out what country it's from because I feel like it's okay so the arc browser is from the United States specifically developed by the browser company which is based in New York City okay so sounds like it's us-based but a lot of the updates seem like they are kind of from let's just say Eastern related and so it's just one of those things that it just I'm not sure about the trust factor of the tool and how secure it actually is okay there's other things that I'm just trying to think of anything else that I can think of that just have are causing me to unfortunately need to probably go back to the Chrome browser unfortunately and it really just has to do with the the time that it takes to go back and forth between the Chrome browser and the arc browser because websites don't load properly on the Arc browser for me and the security issues uh kind of have that in the back of my head those are some reasons that I'm probably going to be using the Chrome browser more and the thing that I don't like about the Chrome browser is that uh it takes this real estate over here from us I believe I can do a side landscape of this and then maybe I can hide that I'm not sure if I could do that in Chrome but it just gives me a little bit less real estate to show you guys when I'm demoing apps and so forth but it's you know it's kind of a sacrifice uh if you will oh that's another thing about the Chrome browser see all these plugins I have up here they don't all work on the uh Arc browser so I have all of these add-ons and Chrome extensions that I've used throughout the years especially testing apps and so forth I need to be able to use these Chrome extensions and then in the arc browser a lot of them just don't work and that's just and they say when you sign up they say they it's compatible and all that but they're not they don't all work and that's just the bottom line so overall what did you guys think about this kind of compar I guess it ended up kind of being a comparison a little bit but I just wanted to share with you the positives and negatives it's mostly positive it's a great browser it's definitely more unique when it comes to the flexibility and customizations that you're able to make and use with the the browser to make it your own change the color of the side you know toggle the sidebar off and on you know quickly jump between you know your different businesses or YouTube channels or things like that I like the you know control T to open up a new browser I like the the tab to switch between what you're doing those are all some really good efficiency and U the UI is great unfortunately there's just too many websites that don't function properly in the arc browser that it's become a headache in my business to where I'm probably going to have to shut it down and shut down Arc and then just go back to Chrome for now what do you guys think if you watch the whole video say hey I watched the whole video leave a comment below also let me know what browser you're using and what browser is like the arc browser that you think is even better or something like that just let me know maybe it's something that I'll into it kind of took a lot I'll end with that it took a lot of kind of mental power and adjustment to actually switch browsers from years and years of use on Chrome to actually shift to the Chrome browser and I feel like I'm I would I'm a very efficient user on the arc browser now but that did take weeks of really you know adjusting and dedicating it was super weird at first and then I got more and more used to it to where I really like it now and I'm kind of sad to be leaving the arc browser and so it's not actually easy to switch your workflow up and what you're used to for years and then completely change to another internet browser I'm sure you guys can all relate but let me know other ones that you uh would recommend me try out and maybe I can you know give them a r and try them out as well so what did you guys think about the comparison what do you guys think about the results do you agree disagree appreciate you guys tuning in I just thought I'd make this video for you guys because I'm kind of going to be shutting down the arc browser at least for now maybe it'll be worth a revisit in the future but I'm going to be shutting it down and and and I thought I would just go ahead and while it's on my mind and everything and I'm obviously still using it today I figured I would just make this nice honest long review in comparison for you guys thank you so much we'll see you in the next video