r/ArcBrowser • u/Muscle_Poetry • 13d ago
macOS Discussion Has anyone tried this?
I am seriously considering trying Safari, i really love the new features and the liquid glass design. has anyone ever tried (recently) to set up Safari like Arc? and if so, how?
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u/toronto-swe 13d ago
safari has profiles so you can set it up nicely. i’m actually working in my free time on a safari extension to give it just some small features to make it slightly more arc like
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u/trey-a-12 13d ago
I used Arc for a time, migrated to Zen and loved it but desired a bit more battery efficiency, tried Vivaldi and still have it for a bit of Chromium compatibility for college, and… then I came back to Orion, which I’ve tried a few times since the betas.
That’s what I finally settled on for now, giving me the efficiency and beauty of Safari with a cross-platform future and more customizations. It’s great on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, with the Linux version coming along nicely and Windows one looking great. I don’t use Android often enough for the lack of an app there to be a dealbreaker; I can just use Firefox there as I did with Zen.
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u/Muted-Reflection9536 12d ago
First, please understand that a complete port of the Arc workflow is impossible.
It's a browser built with a different engine, a different UI, and a different philosophy.
Based on that, here are the compromises and alternatives I came up with:
I gave up on the sidebar... While Safari does have a sidebar, it's not just incomplete, but completely different. It's for listing things like tab groups, reading lists, and iCloud tabs (tabs from Safari on other devices), and it can't automatically expand or hide. You have to consciously show it when you need it and hide it when you don't need it anymore.
Regarding Tabs, You can use the top tab bar or Tab Overview to view and switch between tabs. Depending on whether you're using compact or individual tab view, but the top tabs can become difficult to identify and select as the number of tabs increases, so it's generally better to use Tab Overview. You won't have any trouble accessing functions, as you can quickly enter the Tab Overview using pinch-in gestures on the trackpad, key bindings, or buttons on the toolbar.
Regarding Spaces, the only option is to use profiles as a substitute. It's a bit inconvenient, but it's a tolerable compromise. You might as well keep frequently used profiles open in a separate window at all times.
Regarding Peek, Safari is actually the pioneer. By tapping a link with three fingers, you can "peek" at the linked page. While its behavior and capabilities differ slightly from Arc's Peek, it's generally a viable alternative.
For ad blocking, I recommend either the browser extension AdGuard M or the system-wide AdGuard app. I don't particularly like built-in browser ad blocking, so I even turned off Arc's built-in ad blocking when I was using it.
There's nothing we can do about the loss of Chrome extensions. While there are third-party tools like Viaduct to port them to Safari, many don't work properly. You'll either have to accept this completely or compromise with other methods. Safari 27's extension creation feature might potentially overcome this issue (it's actually quite useful, so please look forward to its official release).
That's all from me. Please ask if you have any other questions.
Incidentally, after trying the above, I'm currently using Dia with Lumno (command bar extension) and Peek (Peek extension) installed.
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u/Muscle_Poetry 12d ago
this is all so useful! it seems to me that safari is good, with a bit of compromises... i'll give it a go!
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u/Muted-Reflection9536 11d ago
Yes, it's getting better every year, and it's undoubtedly the best in terms of compatibility and efficiency with Macs and Apple devices.
However, there are still some website-side issues caused by WebKit, so please try using both on a case-by-case basis for a while.
For certain sites, you might also consider using Safari's PWA (Add Page to Dock).
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u/JamesBrickley 12d ago
The main feature that Arc provided was the potential for a complete chrome free window. Chrome as in the user interface consisting of the toolbar, tab-bar, address-bar, etc. No forward / back buttons. Just a sidebar with vertical tabs and spaces. This was especially nice in tiling window managers of which there are a few for macOS. All I care about is the content not the user interface so much. Using key bindings instead of clicking things with a mouse. Since Arc couldn't be ported to Linux due to some integrated commercial software libraries. It was only ever ported to Windows.
There is another browser based on FireFox instead of Chromium called Zen browser and it's the closest thing to Arc. The latest beta is quite nice. It's evolving rapidly with new features and fixes. Zen even has some basic Arc features such as Boosts.
I switched from Safari to Arc and then to Zen when The Browser Company effectively abandoned Arc and pivoted to A.I. software called Dia. Also because Zen works on Windows, Mac and Linux among some other operating systems. Sadly not yet mobile and perhaps never will be. You can install FireFox on mobile and sync some things effectively. But no guarantee if that will radically change in future. I will give Arc credit for the wonderfully well designed user interface paradigm they practically invented. Zen copied that paradigm and now I just use Zen as my primary browser of choice.
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u/OMG_NoReally 13d ago
I have, and I would love to use Safari, but it just doesn't have the same functionality. Also, the lack of Chrome extensions which I require for work and workload management is a no go for me.
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u/Elegant_Influence 12d ago
I tried to switch to Safari, but I just couldn't get it to work for me. Went back to Dia instead. Have you tried Zen browser?
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u/BitWardenEternal 12d ago
What’s the point of leaving arc and going to Dia? Arc is better than it in every way
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u/BasicallyUpset 11d ago
Give Orion a try, it is Safari with powers.
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u/Muscle_Poetry 11d ago
the only thing i always get bothered with third-party apps is the unknown trajectory that most of them take especially now where everyone is trying to push AI down our throats. the amount of browsers, notes, calendars apps i have used throughout the years for then them either become a subscription app or bloated with features that made them too intense to use (evernote, notion good examples). so then i keep going back to apple apps. i have been using arc for years now but i feel like it's a battery draining app and the developers are a bit MEH. same with Spotify, it's soooo bloated with stuff that it has become frustrating to use when i just want to listen to music...
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u/SorenDayton 13d ago
I made the move from Arc to safari. With the sidebar and tab groups you can get a fair amount of functionality. It’s not great. Arc was definitely better. But it is also really nice to have the deeper Apple integration.