The landscape of web browsers has seen significant evolution over the years. Today, web users demand speed, security, and versatility in their browsing experiences. In this era of cutting-edge technology, a new contender has emerged to redefine the way we interact with the internet: Arc Browser. This innovative web browser is set to revolutionize the way we surf the web. In this article, we will explore the features, capabilities, and potential impact of Arc Browser.

What is Arc Browser ?

Arc Browser is is a new Chromium-based, open-source web browser that aims to provide a streamlined, efficient, and secure web browsing experience. It has features like built-in ad blocking and privacy upgrades and is made to be light and quick. Additionally, Arc browser offers a simple user interface and supports theme and extension customization for the browser's look and features.

The usage of a sidebar rather than the typical tabs at the top of the browser is one of the first features of Arc Browser that you'll notice. It is uncomfortable at first but very useful once you get used to it.

When opening a new tab we are all used with the traditional way where a new blank tab is opened and you start typing in the URL bar. Well Arc comes with a command palette similar with Spotlight Search on Mac or Alfred.

Another cool feature is Spaces. With Spaces you can create multiple "instances" where you can organise your browsing experience. For example I have two workspaces at the moment: personal and work. In the past I had to open two different chrome windows in order to achieve the same thing and the switching between the two has never been as smooth as it is in Arc.

And here comes my absolute favourite feature and the reason why I gave Arc a try in the first place: Splits. I don't know about you but I love splits. In my text editor I always use splits either if I'm using "go to definition", when I'm writing tests I usually keep the test in one split and I'm jumping around in the application checking some code logic in a specific class in another split. Well splits are now possible in the browser as well and I totally love it. This might be the reason why I'll upgrade to a wide monitor so I can have multiple splits.

Lastly but not least I will cover the "page pop-up" feature. Sometimes you find yourself looking for a specific thing but you're unsure where to look, on which website. When performing a google search, instead of opening the results in new tabs with cmd + click with Arc you can open the page in a pop-up, browse the page and decide if you come back to the "main page" or if you want to expand the pop-up into a normal web page. You can do this by using Shift + click on a link.

Some of the most used hotkeys in the Arc

Ctrl + T Open a new tab
Ctrl + W Close the current tab
Ctrl + Shift + T Reopen the last closed tab
Ctrl + Tab Switch to the next tab
Ctrl + Shift + Tab Switch to the previous tab
Ctrl + L Select the address bar
Ctrl + D Bookmark the current page
Ctrl + H Open the history page
Ctrl + J Open the downloads page
F11 Enter or exit full-screen mode
F5 Refresh the current page
Alt + Left arrow Go back to the previous page
Alt + Right arrow Go forward to the next page
Ctrl + Shift + B Show or hide the bookmarks bar
Ctrl + Shift + N Open a new incognito window