Arc’s new iPhone browser wants to be your search companion

The browser company launched Arc’s first iPhone companion app last year, allowing users to save links for later use on the desktop app. The company has now released a new mobile app called Arc Search, designed to focus on the search experience.

The app’s artificial intelligence feature, Browse for Me, returns a carefully crafted web page containing information about the search query. The feature, powered by models from OpenAI and other companies, reads at least six web pages and builds a new page with different sections.

Image Source: TechCrunch screenshot

For example, when I searched for “how to make perfect poached eggs,” Arc Search created a page for me with sections for “Ingredients and Tools,” “Poached Egg Techniques,” “Cooking Process,” and other tips. This page also has lots of useful photos and videos.

Image Source: TechCrunch screenshot

When I asked “What changes has Apple made to the App Store in response to DMA?” the browser also gave me a concise summary. While it doesn’t convey all the key points, the page contains the core of the announcement from the Cupertino-based tech giant.

These pages are great for me to get information at a glance, and I can also use the “Drill Down” section to explore other links listed for the topic. However, I currently cannot share these pages with anyone unless I take a screenshot.

Other features

If users don’t want to use AI features, they can just click on a query to use Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Ecosia—whichever you set as the default.

It’s worth noting that last week the browser company announced that users can set Preplexity as the default search engine on the Arc desktop client. It’s unclear whether this option will be available for mobile clients.

All web pages also have a reader mode for easy reading, and you can also bookmark web pages. But there is no folder system to store these bookmarks.

The Arc Search browser also archives tabs after 1 day (this is customizable) to prevent tab overload. You can view your open tabs via the tab switcher on the bottom bar, or by swiping and holding from the left edge of the screen.

Arc Mobile will automatically archive tabs

Image Source: browser company

Additionally, Arc Search automatically blocks GDPR and newsletter pop-ups, ads, and trackers. Unlike the first companion browser, you can set it as the default browser on your iPhone.

Why does Arc build the browser this way?

Josh Miller, CEO of The Browser Company, said in a post on So it starts with the search bar in the middle. It opens a keyboard so you can start typing your query immediately.

With its new page creation feature Search, the new Arc Search browser wants to make you feel like you’re interacting with an AI agent that will do the heavy lifting of finding content, summarizing it, and presenting it well. We’ve seen this approach with Google’s Search Generated Experience (SGE) or Perplexity AI. Browsers, on the other hand, mainly introduce AI-driven features to summarize pages or help you write posts. Arc Search is trying to merge these two feature surfaces.

What’s next?

For now, Arc will retain its mobile companion for saving links, but there are plans to merge the two browser clients at a later stage.

What’s more, the company says it plans to roll out cross-browser syncing. Miller said in his post that as the company begins to ramp up the rollout of Windows clients, it can’t rely solely on iCloud. That’s why the team is building Arc’s own sync experience, which will be available soon.

Arc originally offered a waitlist system for Mac and last year abandoned the system for anyone to download. Its Windows client is still in the testing phase and still uses a waitlist system. With this new Arc Search client, the company hopes to provide a low-barrier entry point for users to start browsing immediately without having to create an account.



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from Tech Empire Solutions https://techempiresolutions.com/arcs-new-iphone-browser-wants-to-be-your-search-companion/
via https://techempiresolutions.com/

from Tech Empire Solutions https://techempiresolutions.blogspot.com/2024/01/arcs-new-iphone-browser-wants-to-be.html
via https://techempiresolutions.com/

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